This Isn't Happening
by ZehHyperactiveAuthor
Summary: What if you met your childhood hero? What would you do? Scream? Faint? Bear-hug him? Beat him sensless with a cricket bat? So far, Shari was leaning toward the latter. Unfortunately, she needed him to be conscious when he saved her life. And visa-versa.
1. Infernal Computer

Me: Hey there peoplez! Dis is zeh author speaking! Sooooooo sorry for not updating for long! I blame viruses and Jake who insisted on _dismantling_ the _entire_ computer, claiming that he could fix it.(glares pointedly at echidna)

Jake: I could've if you'd given me a chance!

Me: Are you kidding! It took you one-fourth of that time to build me a new one! And poor Jason's been your enthusiastic helper for months trying to fix it! Look at him!

Jake: (glances at a snoozing 7-year-old hedgehog draped over the couch like a rag doll)

Me: (gently shakes hedgehog's shoulder) Jaaaasoooon?

Jason: ZZZzzzZZZ *snort* huh…wha…?

Me; (points to the screen)

Jason: Oh…right. ZehHyperactiveAuthor doesn't own Sonic n' co. *yawn* zzzZZZzzzZZ

Me: Poor thing…Anywho, Enjoy!

_**What If You Met Your Childhood Hero…**_

_**Chapter 1**_

"No! No! No! NO!" Shari Anderson typed furiously at the computer which was in the process of freezing/shutting down for the sixth time. The screen started getting fuzzy and hazy lines were appearing on it. She sighed. _Guess I'll have to fix the darn thing…again._ She walked across her cluttered room and dug out a tool kit from under a pile of electric gizmos and PC manuals.

Some people would call her smart.

Some called her a geek or a computer nerd.

Some just shook their head and mumbled "Well I'll be darned…" or "I take it back…_now_ I've seen everything."

14-year-old Shari was a computer wiz. She was an "expert on technology" despite her age. No. Not just an expert. A _genius_. In her early teens, she could figure out things that the world's greatest scientists were still puzzling over. Of course, she kept this part secret, making sure it looked like she had the knowledge of someone who worked in a computer repair shop. Which she did.

But now she was at home, working on a new type of computer. A computer that worked faster. A computer that could connect to the internet anywhere on the planet. A computer that, as of now, was on the verge of exploding.

Shari pried off the side panel, calculative brown eyes scanning at the jumble of wires that made up the main hard drive. _What the…?_ She nudged a bright blue wire with the tip of her screwdriver. She hadn't used any blue wires when building her computer…(she had used them all on her pathetic attempt at hover shoes)so what was _this_ doing here? Brushing a rebellious strand of black hair from her eyes, she fingered her necklace thoughtfully. Maybe she had had one left over and used it without noticing. She _did_ get pretty wrapped up in her work sometimes…(they say she wouldn't have noticed if her shirt was on fire)

_Maybe this is what's causing all the problems. _She tried to disconnect the wire. It wouldn't budge. Discouraged, she then considered pulling it off. That's when she realized that it was connected to every other wire in her computer. There was no way to pull it off without tearing her computer apart from the inside out. And if the blue wire was the problem then…she growled in frustration. Her entire computer was incapable of working correctly from _one wire_? She'd have to start all over!

In her irritation, gave the computer a sharp kick. KACHUNK! _Woops. _She hadn't meant to kick it that hard. It sounded like she'd knocked something loose…

**Whirrrrrrrrr…**

_Huh? _She looked up at the screen. A swirling white glow had appeared on the computer's monitor. _So, the computer lives…_she mused. Then, that little booting-up-icon-thingy appeared on the screen. "It's _working_!" she cheered in amazement, doing a little dance around her room and nearly stepping on a partly-assembled I-Touch in the process. "Yahhoooooo! _I did it! _It'sworkingIt'sworkingIt'sworkingIt's

work-!"

"Shari! It's your turn for dishes!" Shari froze. No. Never. Not in a million years. She was _way_ too busy changing history to worry about something as unoriginal as _dishes_! (**I have to do dishes almost every day**) Maybe if she pretended she didn't hear…

"Dear diary…"

"_Hey_!" Shari thundered down the stairs of her two-story apartment with every intention of introducing her little brother's head to the wall. She nearly ran him over. Josh was leaning against said wall with a smirk in full force, brown eyes reading triumph. He wasn't even holding her diary!

"I _knew_ you were listening!" he stated smugly.

"Why you little-"

"_Shari…_" Shari flinched at her father's warning tone. Fine. She would just kill him later. Rolling up her sleeves, she fixed the 10-year-old with a smoldering glare before turning her attention to the towering pile of pots, pans, plates, bowls, and tea bags. Furiously scrubbing a plate full of dried rice, she vaguely wondered if her family was the only one who usually threw their trash in the sink instead of the garbage can underneath it.

Fourteen plates, seven bowls, and a couple of pots and pans later, she was up the stairs. Throwing her bedroom door open(and having it come to a stop against a pile of clothes), she surveyed her room. There was barely and room to _walk_, much less do another project! (**welcome to my room…minus the gadgets and gizmos) **She would have to clear it. After all, a genius has to be well organized.

It took her a while, but she finally managed to get everything she wasn't working on stuffed inside her tiny broom closet. After a great deal of shoving, the door closed with a satisfying click. She heaved a heavy sigh of relief before turning around to admire her work. Shari blinked in confusion at her now-visible carpeted floor. She hadn't remembered it being blue…

Oh well. Shari glanced at her ridiculously pink Hello Kitty teacup clock. (Now, before you ask, this is because her great aunt was still under the impression that Shari was four years old. Shari couldn't afford a knew clock because all of the money that she had saved up went to her projects. (**This is nearly a page out of my book. Thankfully, it's gone now. Phew!**) It was nearly six thirty. She still had a couple of hours. Walking over to her now empty desk, she set out her tool kit and clicked on her small, overhead lamp. Then, she walked over to her CD player and turned it on to her favorite song, _Cross That Line_ by Superchick.

_Follow the leader; stay in the lines._

_What will people think of what you've done this time?_

_Go with the crowd. Surly somebody knows,_

_Why we're all wearing the emperor's clothes._

_Play it safe; play by the rules._

_Or don't play at all. What if you lose?_

_That's not the secret, but I know what is!_

_Everybody dies, but not everyone lives!_

_Everybody dies, but not everyone lives!_

_I'm gonna rock like I've got the cops on my tale!_

_I'm gonna live my life like I'm out on bale!_

_I'm gonna be out front! Gonna blaze the trail!_

_I'm gonna!_

_I'm gonna!_

_I'm gonna!_

_I'm gonna cross that line!_

Two hours later, she leaned back to admire her new cell phone. It was silver with blue flames, her two favorite colors. She had momentarily considered giving it a touch screen and a voice dial system until she remembered what happened the last time she used it. With the touch screen, it kept calling someone named Kent while it was still in her pocket. With the voice activation, well, you all know what happens with those. You tell it to call your mother and it calls Shan Connery or Mel Gibson. It would usually take Shari a good fifteen minuets to finally call the right person (a.k.a., give up trying to talk to it and just dial in the number).

She glanced at her clock again. Eight thirty-two. She still had about an hour and a half before bed time. _Now, to test out the new computer!_ Taking the cloth off of it, she pressed the power button and prayed to God the infernal contraption would start. It did. _Oh, yeah!_ It only took a few seconds to completely boot up. _Well, it's certainly faster…Now, to test the internet system._ Shari clicked on Internet Explorer. Her home page didn't even have to load. Shari immediately went to her favorite site_, _.net.

Shari had been a fan of the blue blur for as long as she could remember. Her parents had gotten a Sega Genesis when she was three years old and she used to play nearly all of the old-fashioned, 2-D Sonic games against her dad and her brother. A few years later, when she found out that the spiky blue pinball in the videogames actually had a story line, well, she was practically pinging off the walls with excitement. She hadn't gotten an account on fanfiction, she was never much of a writer, but she _loved_ reading the stories. Some of the stories there made you wonder why they had gotten an account in the first place, but most of them were pretty good.

Shari spent the next few minutes reading random fanfictions…that is, until her computer suddenly blacked out. _Dang it!_ Shari typed furiously, her fingers thundering on the keyboard, but it was no use. She was just about to give up when the screen suddenly turned white. Shari's eyes widened_. Oooookay…not exactly what I expected…_ Then, the computer started to make that whirring noise again, only this time it was louder. _Much_ louder. The computer was practically screaming at her, it's high pitch whine was nearly deafening. Shari covered her ears, crying out in pain. Her vision started to blur. She felt a hazy fog slowly begin to cloud up her mind. Through the inky blackness, Shari groggily gave one last disoriented glance at the computer.

A perfectly round mustached face smiled back at her.

Then darkness consumed her.


	2. This Isn't Happening

Me: Yay!! Second chapter!! Errr…not much to say…so, uh, Jason?

Jason: ZZZzzzZZZ *snort* huh…wha…? Oh. Uh…Author doesn't own Sonic n' co. *yawn* zzzzzzZZZZzzzz…

Me: Read n' Review! ^_^

_**What If You Met Your Childhood Hero…**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_She was running. _

_Why? She did not know, but she was definitely running. She could feel the hammering of her own heart and her feet pounding against the earth. She could feel the adrenalin course through her veins. It all mixed together to form a blissful euphoria. _

_Where was she? She was everywhere. Her world was a blur of color. Blue, green, and brown swirled together. She could smell wood, greenery, and earth. A forest? Maybe a jungle…She felt herself twisting and turning, dodging and weaving, probably avoiding trees. _

_She could feel her world slipping away around her as she lost herself in the wondrous ecstasy that came from running. She didn't ask herself how she got to wherever she was or how she could run at such incredible speeds. It didn't matter. She could feel the wind pressing her hair back. That's odd. It felt stiffer than hair. She reached up to feel it._

_Nothing happened. She couldn't move! No…she was moving. She was still running and the joy still lingered, but she wasn't telling herself to run! She tried to stop, but couldn't. She tried to scream, but her mouth didn't even open. She had no control. Suddenly she didn't like it here. She didn't want to be here! Where was she? _

_It didn't matter…_

_No!!! It __**did**__ matter! How did she get here? Where was she going? She was scared! She wanted to be out! Let me out! _

"Let me out!!"

Shari shot up with a terrified cry. "No!" The word echoed in the empty silence. It was only a dream. She sank back into her pillow, sighing in relief. Her pillow was cold and uncomfortable. Something was tickling her hand and neck. The light was so bright, she must've left the lamp on. What was tickling her hand? Tired of questions, Shari decided to just find out. She cracked and eye open…and came face-to-face with a dandelion. What was a dandelion doing in her room!?

Shari shot up again, then groaned as a wave of dizziness rolled over her. She opened one eye, than the other as they widened in surprise. She was staring at a tree. A very _big_ tree. Shari stumbled to her feet as she backed up, brown eyes slowly traveling up the twenty-foot trunk till they came to rest on the leafless branches. The trunk suddenly looked too small to support them. They were massive in diameter, being nearly twice as long as the trunk was tall. It reminded Shari of her brother with a bad hair day.

Where was she?! This was defiantly _not _her bedroom! Shari whirled around. She was standing on a hill; an emerald meadow stretched out before her, it's tall grass swaying lazily in the cool, gentle breeze. At the edge of the meadow lay a forest consisting of elm trees that extended as far as the eye could see. The flow of trees was broken only by a towering, snow-capped mountain that seemed to continue forever. A glistening waterfall flowing from it's base seeming but a mere stream in the great distance.

The sight was both breath taking and alarming. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered…she was…working on her computer. And then that awful noise…she shuddered to think of it. Was she kidnapped? If so, why was she in the middle of nowhere? And where was her kidnapper?

Shari didn't have the slightest clue where she was or how she got here. So…now what? She struggled to think; her mind didn't seem to be working properly. Had she been drugged? That would explain her grogginess…

Shari turned back to the forest. It looked endless and she couldn't see a break in the trees where a town might be located. She needed to call her parents. She needed to find a phone. Did she have her cell? Shari dug her hand into the pocket of her baby-blue jacket. Nothing. She checked her jeans. _Ah-ha!_ Shari pulled out her new silver phone. It had four bars. _Cool. _She tried her home phone, only to have that aggravating female voice tell her, "_We're sorry. Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check your number and try your call again._" (**I'm writing this from memory**)

After trying a few other numbers with the same response, she decided to just settle for the universal emergency number, 911. Her call was answered immediately by what sounded like a young man. (**Before you start complaining of inaccuracy, I've never dialed 911 before and hopefully never will, so I have no sweet clue what the calls sound like)**

"_Hello?_" Shari sighed in relief at the sound of his voice.

"Hey, could you help me?"

"_That depends on what you need help with,_" he replied calmly.

"I'm lost and I can't seem to reach my parents, or anyone for that matter."

"_Can you describe your surroundings?_" Shari gave him the description and anxiously waited for a reply.

"_Your pretty far off from civilization,_" he mused.

"No kidding, Sherlock," Shari retorted dryly. She was starting to get hungry.

"_Okay, okay. Keep your shirt on. How'd you get way out there anyhow?_" Shari frowned at the question.

"I haven't the slightest idea."

"_Oh boy._" He sighed. "_You know, I can think of the perfect guy for this job. Unfortunately, he seems to have issues with cell phones._"

"If you introduce me to him, I could change his mind. Without a cell phone, how could someone call 911?"

"_He wouldn't need 911._"

"What?"

"_Never mind. I'm sending someone over right now. What's your name, kid?_"

"Shari. Shari Anderson." The man chuckled.

"_Well Miss Anderson, how do you feel about helicopters?_"

Shari spent the next hour or two waiting for the arrival of the helicopter, during which she had time to think over her most recent dream. In spite of the horror of finding out that she was trapped, she had really enjoyed running. This was pretty strange, considering Shari was one of those people who only gave a half-hearted jog when her P.E. teacher was looking. In the dream, she ran tirelessly! Without the exhaustion, running was actually a very rejuvenating experience. Or maybe that was just because it was a dream…

The sound of a helicopter startled her out of her musings. _Finally!_ Shari stood scanning the skies. She soon spotted it…a lot closer than she expected. It made it's landing in the field and Shari immediately made her way toward it, eager to head back to civilization. As the helicopter blades slowly stopped spinning, someone slid the door open. (**Now, I know, helicopters don't stop while they're picking someone up, but that was the only way I was able to insert conversation)**

Shari nearly fainted. There, in the helicopter, stood a three-foot humanoid armadillo. It blinked it's blue eyes at her and smiled warmly. The creature next to it, a green tiger with curious yellow eyes, gaped in surprise.

"Hey, she's a human!" He turned to his partner. "I didn't know there were humans living around here. Do you think they speak our language?" Without waiting for a reply, he refocused on Shari and pointed to himself. "My. Name. John," he said, enunciating each syllable. Then, he patted the wall. "This he-li-cop-tor." _This isn't happening. _His friend elbowed him.

"Of course she speaks English. How else could she have made the call?"

"How do you know it was her?" the tiger, or John, protested.

"Well, she's in the same place that we got the call from." John folded his arms.

"How do you know that _that_ girl didn't leave and this human just happened to be here?" The armadillo rolled his eyes, tired of the discussion.

"Why don't you just ask her?" he suggested.

"Fine." John turned to Shari, who was mentally freaking out. _Thisisn't happeningthisisn'thappeningthisisn'thap- _"You. Call. Us?" John asked, pointing first to Shari, then to himself.

"Uh…" John took that as an answer.

"See, Mark? She can't understand us." Mark smirked at him.

"Or you. I don't think she speaks moron." Ignoring his partner's glare, he turned to Shari.

"Sorry about him. He still hasn't convinced me that he's old enough to drive." John looked offended.

"I'm twenty-one!" he protested indignantly. The armadillo smirked. "Could've fooled me. Anyway, as my partner was trying to ask, are you the girl who called 911 a couple of hours ago?" His light-hearted kindness brought Shari out of her stupor long enough to manage a shaky nod. Instead of telling his friend "I told you so", Mark just nodded at Shari. "Good. Well, we're here to take you back to civilization. Hop aboard." Though he spoke kindly, Shari somehow knew that when Mark tell you to do something, you obey. No questions asked. She timidly inched toward the monstrous contraption. John gave her a questioning look.

"What's the matter? You look like you've never seen a Mobian before." Shari didn't answer. _Mobian? __**MOBIAN!?! **__You have __**got**__ to be kidding me! This is __**so**__ not happening! _Mark slid the door closed, eyeing her bewildered expression suspiciously. Thankfully, he didn't question her until they were well on their way.

"So, what's your name?" he asked coaxingly. Shari's throat was dry.

"Sh-Shari," she replied meekly. Mark nodded.

"Okay. So, Shari, care to explain how you got here?"

"I-I don't know…" Mark raised his eyebrow.

"You don't know?" he repeated. Shari shook her head.

"No. One minute I'm in my house working on my computer and the next thing I know, there's high pitch whine and I black out! Now, I have no idea where I am or what _planet_ I'm on or if I'll ever get home-"

"Whoa there! Easy! Calm down, Shari." Mark was holding his hand out as if he could somehow hold back her complaints, but she wasn't finished.

"No! I will _not_ calm down! I'm not even supposed to _be_ here! I want to be in my _own _house on _Earth!!_ I want to go _home!!_" With that Shari broke down into tears, burying her face into her hands. The room was miraculously silent; even John somehow managed to keep a lid on his questions and observations. This was a good thing, because Shari was in the mood to strangle anyone who spoke. After a few minutes, Shari managed to pull herself together, sniffling. She chanced a glance up at Mark. He was watching her quietly, his blue eyes now filled with a sort of understanding.

"So, you come from Earth," he questioned her quietly.

"Yeah," Shari mumbled. Mark nodded slowly; you could almost see the gears turning in his mind.

"Tell me, was there any sort of symbol on your computer screen?" The question made Shari's eyes widen in surprise. _How did he know?_

"Yes…" she answered cautiously.

"What kind of symbol?" Shari struggled to remember.

"It was…well…a head. A smiling head with a big, poofy mustache." Mark sighed.

"I knew it," he mumbled to himself before turning to Shari. "It appears that you've been brought here by Dr. Ivo Robotnic, a.k.a. Eggman." Both John and Shari gasped.

"Eggman?" Shari repeated in disbelief. Mark nodded.

"He's the evil scientist who's constantly trying to take over the world." He acted like he'd just mentioned the whether. _This isn't happening._ Mark again looked calculative. "So, if Egghead brought you here, he probably has some sort of use for you. Knowing Eggman, that use can't be good. So, what do we do when fighting against an mad scientist?"

"Call the F.B.I?" John suggested. Mark ignored him.

"You get the help of his arch-rival." Shari's stomach did a flip. No way. No. Flipping. Way. She was going to meet a celebrity, and not just any celebrity.

She was going to meet her childhood hero.


	3. The Dream

Me: Chapter three! This one was actually really fun to write. Jason? …Oh, never mind. I'll do it. I don't own Sonic and company. R&R! ^_^

_**What If You Met Your Childhood Hero…**_

_**Chapter 3 **_

_Shari was running again. _

_It was the same as before. Same joy. Same ecstasy. And she still couldn't move. Only this time, she knew she was dreaming, so she wasn't that apprehensive. This time, instead of freaking out, she decided to try and figure out where she was. She couldn't really look around and she was moving so fast that everything was blurry. The only sound seemed to be the wind rushing past her ears. Suddenly, she stopped. For the first time, she was standing still enough to see something. Shari found herself looking at the same tree she had just spent the past two hours underneath. She was back at the meadow! _

_Shari felt herself turn around and sit down, leaning against the tree. She let out a sigh of contentment. Wait…her voice didn't sound normal. It sounded strangely…masculine. Was she in someone else's body? That would explain not being in control…Shari relaxed, listening to his slow, rhythmic breathing. She could feel the moister from the grass soak through her fur…Wait…__**fur!?**__Was she inside a mobian? Shari guessed this was because of meeting Mark and John. _

_This was an interesting dream. _

_In spite of her situation, Shari felt strangely calm. The joy from running still lingered and she reflected on how much she loved it. Her feet pounding against the earth…the wind whistling through her quills…__**quills!?**__ With a start, Shari realized that it wasn't her thoughts she was hearing. They were __**his**__! She could somehow hear his thoughts! So…if she could feel what he felt, surprise, ecstasy, etc., then could he…? Well, he didn't seem to react to her internal musings. Maybe she had to direct her thoughts toward him. It was worth a shot. After all, this was just a dream, right? What could go wrong?_

'_**Hello?'**__ she thought experimentally. Several things happened at once. The mobian's calm demeanor evaporated as awareness took over and he instantly began to survey his surroundings, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice. Shari found this, along with the obvious fact that he'd never find her, slightly amusing and she mentally giggled. Her laughter seemed to echo through his mind as he jumped to his feet, whirling around to scan the area behind him. _

"_Who's there!" he demanded. "Show yourself!" _

'_**Er…That would be a liiiitle bit difficult,'**__ Shari muttered._

'_**Now we're getting somewhere.'**__ "What do you mean?" He demanded. Shari's mind whirled as she tired to think of how in the name of all things good and righteous could she possibly explain her situation without freaking him out. At least he seemed like the kind of person who didn't get scared easily._

'_**Why isn't she answering?' **__he wondered. __**'Is she ignoring me?'**__ Shari immediately began to protest. _

'_**I'm not ignoring you. I just…look this is **__**really**_ _**hard to explain so gimme a moment will ya?' **__A wave of confusion nearly drowned her as she heard him wonder._

'_**What the…did I say that out loud?' **__Shari mentally slapped herself. Well…that was one way to tell him…_

'_**Uh…no, you didn't. I can sorta…well…hear your thoughts.' **__This time, a tidal wave of disbelief rolled over her, so strong that, for a minute, she didn't even believe her own statement. __**'It's true!'**__ Shari insisted indignantly. She could tell that he was about to say something sarcastic, when all of a sudden, a loud __**clunk**__ echoed throughout the valley, startling the heck out of her. The mobian, being able to feel her emotions, jumped about three feet in the air. This confused him._

'_**Why did I-'**_

'_**Oh, that was just me. Now what the **__**heck**__** was **__**that**__**!?' **__She felt him give a flicker of annoyance before replying out loud, still refusing to believe that she could read his thoughts._

"_Well, wherever you are, you'd better find someplace to hide. We've got company."____As if on cue, there was another loud __**thud **__followed by several softer __**thump, thump, thump**__s__**. **__Finally, the source of the noise crashed through the trees. Even though she knew she was dreaming, Shari couldn't help but feel a liiiiittle bit frightened by the menacing, forty-foot red robot with wicked yellow eyes and a gun about __**ten times their size**__. The mobian on the other hand, wasn't the least bit deterred at he looked the robot squarely in the eye and…smirked? Was he __**crazy!?**_

"_You again?" He laughed. "Didn't I defeat ya __**last week**__? What's the matter, big guy? Didn't have enough last time?" The robot responded by pointing it's gun at them. This obviously freaked Shari out. _

'_**Move! Run! Evade! Do SOMETHING!!' **__The mobian winced. _

"_Shut up, will you?" he mumbled. "I'm trying to think." Shari fumed._

'_**Why you little…' **__Her insult was abruptly cut off as the robot shot at them, only to be dodged. The mobian was now running circles around the thing and Shari could hear his thoughts a bit clearer. _

'_**There is no way Egghead would send this thing back at me without some serious modifications. I've gotta be ready for anything.' **__As he was running, eyes on his target, Shari's mind was whirling, her thoughts a jumble._

'_**In order to build something that big…and the wires would connect…then the power source would be…' **__She felt another wave of surprise, followed by annoyance that was edged with worry._

"_I thought I told you to hide!" The mobian yelled. "Where are you!"_

'_**I already told you!' **__Shari growled in frustration. __**'You'd better be careful cause you're protecting both of us!' **__Another wave of disbelief and then something akin to defiance as the mobian proceeded to curl up into a ball and spin-dash strait into the robot's chest. __**'That's **__**not**__** what I call being careful!' **__Shari yelled as he tried in vain to wear away the machinery. __**'You're gonna get us killed!' **_

_As if to prove her point, the robot used it's powerful hand to swat him away and the end of one of it's pointed metal figures delivered a long, painful gash that started at their elbow and ended just below their shoulder. The mobian simply jumped away, showing no signs of pain. Shari on the other hand was in agony. __**'OW!!' **__she bellowed, making him wince in pain. __**'THAT HURT, YOU MORON!!' **_

"_Quite yelling or-" Shari interrupted him._

'_**Would you just SHUT UP and LISTEN to me!?' **__He shut up and Shari calmed down a bit. __**'Look, only a complete **__**idiot**__** would put their power source in the middle of the robot where it is so vulnerable. Now, my guess is that this robot's power source would most likely be in it's gun for two reasons. One: that would make it a bit more difficult to get at. The other reason is that it would need that extra power to fuel the gun anyhow.' **__The mobian immediately began to protest._

"_How the heck am I supposed to destroy the gun without getting singed?" he asked in bewilderment. _

'_**Simple,'**__ she replied. __**'With your speed you should have no problem getting at the right angle. Just keep circling around him until you get an opening. There's no way that any tracking system could follow you at these speeds.'**__ The mobian didn't reply though Shari could feel he was both surprised, impressed, and a bit resentful. Shari was soon proven correct as the mobian's sharp spines began to slice strait through the robot's powerful arm. It took a few minutes, but the robotic arm soon fell to the floor with a metallic __**thud. **__The mobian immediately jumped back and braced himself for another attack, but it never came. The robot just looked at his arm dumbly for a few seconds before falling face down in a dismantled heap. _

_The mobian relaxed a bit and walked over to prod the thing with the tip of his toe. Shari's blood froze as the reality came crashing down on her. The mobian was looking at the robot when he'd nudged it so that Shari got a pretty good view of pointed red and white-striped sneakers attached to a blue-furred leg. He had __**blue fur**__. He fought robots, ran at high speeds, and had __**blue fur**__. The mobian, or as we now know, hedgehog, was oblivious to Shari's internal verification. He was too busy taunting the dead robot who, obviously, couldn't hear him._

"_Ah, come __**on**__! Was that the best you can do? I think your creator's starting to lose his knack!"_

'_**Y-You have **__**got**__** to be kidding me!' **__Shari murmured in a daze, her mind whirling. She barely felt the hedgehog's confusion._

"_What?"_

'_**N-No way! Sonic?' **_

"Shaaaariiiiiii….Hellloooooo? Anybody home?" Shari cracked her eyes open, then winced at the fierce bombardment of light shining in her face.

"Lemme alone…" she mumbled, still half asleep. John frowned for a split second, then leaned in until he was about two inches from her face.

"No," he said defiantly. Shari backed up a couple of inches, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"Phew! Yuck! What do you brush your teeth with? Bugs?"

"No." John still hadn't moved.

"Do the words 'personal space' mean anything to you?"

"Uh…" The green tiger paused, his yellow eyes thoughtful for a moment, before giving a nonchalant shrug. "No." Shari gave him a dull look.

"Is that all you can say? No?"

"Er…no?" Shari narrowed her eyes.

"Well _move_! Your morning breath is killing me!"

"Actually, it's three in the afternoon," came a voice from behind her. Shari groggily propped her elbows up on the metal bench she'd been laying on and let her gaze follow the sound of the voice. She soon spotted Mark sitting on an identical bench opposite hers at the head of the helicopter, about two feet away from her. The armadillo wasn't looking at her, his gaze remained on the grayish backpack he was currently filling, but he glanced up for a moment to smile warmly at her. "But, good morning anyway." Shari smiled back before launching herself into a stretch. Every muscle in her body ached and she let out a small groan that immediately turned into a yawn.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked no one in particular.

"About…" Mark held up his wrist to inquire a nonexistent watch. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Now where has my watch gone to…?" he murmured in puzzlement. John smirked slightly.

"He's always loosing stuff," he told Shari with a roll of his eyes. Then, the tiger turned to the confused armadillo who had begun searching in his bag, muttering quietly to himself. "Hey, Mark, try your left front pocket," John suggested. Mark dug into his pocket, producing nothing. He inquisitively turned to John who was smiling sheepishly. "Er…sorry. My left, your right." With a tolerant roll of his eyes, Mark reached deep into his right pocket and produced a silvery gray watch, along with a deck of cards, a cell phone, a spare pack of double A batteries, and a miniature first aid kit. He gave the watch a triumphant smile and placed it on his wrist. Then, he glance up at his companions, who were giving him weird expressions.

"What?" he asked. "I've got big pockets, okay?"

"They're two inches," John protested. Mark sighed.

"Well…they're…bigger on the inside," he stated in exasperation.

"How can they-?"

"So, as I was saying," Mark interrupted his friend, pausing to give him an apologetic smile before continuing. "Shari, you've been asleep for…" He stole a quick glance at the device on his wrist. "About…three hours?" Shari frowned, narrowing her deep brown eyes in confusion.

"Hold on," she began, "How did you know it was three o'clock earlier?" Mark shrugged.

"Lucky guess?" he offered. "Anyway, we should be arriving any minute now." Shari's heart gave a loud thump as she was again reminded of where she was going to be staying for that next couple of days. Thinking about Sonic, she couldn't help but wonder if he would act anything like the dream she'd just had. Then again, she _was_ able to hear his thoughts and feel his emotions back then. She had no idea how he looked on the outside, though she remembered feeling him smile as he battled the robot, even as he argued with her. He probably acted nothing like he felt. And yet again, that was just a dream.

It was strange, actually. They say that when you dream, you can just pinch yourself to wake up. But in this dream, her arm had been cut, and still the dream continued. Shari glance down at said arm in confusion. It was hidden by her baby-blue jacket and…it felt strangely wet and sticky. Narrowing her eyes in inquisition, she began to remove her it, wincing as hot searing pain made her grit her teeth. When it was finally off, revealing her grey tank top, Shari folded her jacket and laid it on the bench beside her. Then, she held up her arm to inspect it. What she saw made her blood run cold. There, on her arm, was a long, wicked looking gash running from her elbow to just below her shoulder.

Just like Sonic.

Just like her dream.

Me: BUM BUM BUM BUUUUUM!!!! I love cliffies!!! R&R! ^_^


	4. Meeting Amy and Gearhead

Me: I am now an official author! Chapter _four_!! Yahoo!!!! (starts dancing)

Roxy: She broke her record. (turns to me) You look like an idiot.

Me: Thank you! J

Roxy: *sigh* The author doesn't own Sonic and co.

Me: Read and Review! No seriously, I'm not putting up another chapter in _any_ of my stories until I get another review. So far, I have a grand total of one review and all it says is 'Cool'. So R&R! ^_^

_**What If You Met Your Childhood Hero…**_

_**Chapter 4**_

Shari gazed in bewilderment at the cut on her arm. It was impossible! She had gotten that cut in a dream. No, _Sonic_ had gotten that cut from the robot he defeated. They defeated, actually, because, whether he liked it or not, she _did_ help. But it was just a _dream_! Or…was it? At that thought, her inner-fan-girl started to squeal in girlish glee. _Ohmigosh! You were in Sonic's head! You flippin __**read his mind! **__How cool is that!?_

While Shari was struggling with the fan-girl clawing around inside her, Mark just happened to glance at her and his eyes immediately rested on the four-inch slash on her arm. "Whoa…," he breathed. "Shari, where did you get that?" Shari's head snapped up at the mention of her name, cutting off her inner battle, and she found him pointing to her newly-acquired wound.

"Uh…" Shari's mind was whirling. He'd never believe her, she decided, so she gave the only alternative reply she could think of. (**Or rather, that her author could think of…**) "I dunno…," she muttered. Mark smirked.

"Yeah, I kinda figured you'd say that." He sighed, reaching into his miniature first-aid kit for a bandage. Then, he sat down beside her and began to dress her wound. His hands were strong, but gentle, and his work was quick. Soon, he was clipping the bandage in place. "It was a deep gash," he told her, "But it will heal quick. All things do in this world." Something flashed in his eyes for a brief second, so quick that Shari thought she might've imagined it, but it disappeared without a trace at the sound of the pilot's voice.

"Prepare to disembark," she said over her shoulder and Shari caught a quick glimpse of a purple-eyed, female leopard in a uniform and a pilot's helmet before the pilot refocused her gaze on the instrument panel. Thirty seconds later, John was opening the sliding metallic door. Before Mark could follow him, he asked him pointedly if he was forgetting anything. Another ten seconds and a sheepish armadillo stepped onto the ground, shoving the last item into his pocket, a grey backpack strapped securely on his back. Then, he turned to effortlessly lift Shari down beside him. Together, the trio trudged across the grass in an effort to avoid the ever-increasing blast of wind as the helicopter took off into the cloudless blue sky.

Shari took a glance around her. This didn't look like civilization. On one side, there were rolling hills covered with flowing, tall emerald grass that was only broken by the occasional boulder or shrub. But as Shari surveyed the other side, her heart skipped a beat. It wasn't much, just a plain dirt road piercing the grass that was bordered every so often by a neat little house, most of which had picturesque gardens. Beyond that, the dirt road disappeared into a lightly forested countryside. But Shari's gaze was on one house in particular. This house she recognized.

It was a yellow brown-roofed house that was slightly larger than the others. On top of the roof was positioned a small solar panel and a silvery metallic satellite dish that was rotating in lazy circles. This house had no garden, just a simple dirt path leading up to it's windowed red door which stood a little to the right of an orange-curtained window. Off to the side of the house was what appeared to be a garage, except it had no car. As they got closer, Shari could easily make out the assortment of gadgets and gizmos displayed on metal work benches through the open garage door. In an old office chair, hunched over some sort of project, was what appeared to be a yellow fox, his twin tails swinging lazily on either side of the chair's back support. Shari recognized him immediately, but she questioned Mark about him anyway.

"Is that…It can't be…can it?" She turned to Mark, expecting him to answer, and was surprised when he laughed.

"Well, that all depends on who you think he is," he replied, grinning. Shari didn't answer. It was at that moment that a pink hedgehog in a red, white-rimmed dress and red boots strode past them, heading strait toward the figure in the desk. She was carrying something in her arms, which Shari instantly identified as a food processor. She marched strait up to the fox who didn't appear to notice her.

"Tails, my food processor is broken again." The fox, or Tails, didn't so much as glance at her as he replied.

"Put it on the table." The female surveyed the numerous metal desks, work benches, and tabletops.

"Which one?" she asked in bewilderment.

"The empty one," was the reply. The girl frowned.

"Uh, Tails? There is no empty one."

"Let me rephrase that, as long as it's not on top of my gadgets, I don't care where you put it." Sighing, the hedgehog placed her machine on a nearby empty space, most likely the only one in the room. She was just about to leave when something occurred to her and she turned back to address the fox again.

"Tails, I'd like it back tomorrow please." Still looking at his work, the fox replied in a dismissive tone.

"Then pay me."

"But I need it to cook for the party."

"Party's on Friday."

"So?"

"It's Wednesday, Amy." The girl folded her arms defiantly.

"_I_ like to get my cooking done _early_."

"Tough." Shari blinked in surprise. _Since when did Tails get so snippy?_ The hedgehog looked like she wanted to argue or, knowing Amy, bash him on the head with her hammer. But instead, she just closed her eyes for a minuet, and then, reopening them, turned and left. It was then that she spotted Shari, Mark, and John. She smiled cheerfully at them, pleasantly surprised.

"Oh! Hello there!" she called with a wave. "I didn't notice you. I was busy dealing with Einstein here." Amy motioned to Tails, who didn't seem to here her. "Yo. Gear-head, you've got visitors."

"Hmmm…" was the distracted reply. Frowning, she leaned in close and spoke directly into his tufted, cat-like ear.

"Mobius to Tails! Are you even listening? I'm talking to you!"

"Uh-huh." Her frown deepened.

"Aliens are invading."

"That's nice." Rolling her eyes with a sigh, she brought her fingers to her lips and let out a shrill, high-pitched whistle. Tails responded by falling strait out of his chair and into Amy's expectant arms. He looked up at her sheepishly.

"Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. Amy just smiled.

"Aren't you always? Oh, well. I guess I can't blame you, but you've got visitors." Tails' baby-blue eyes widened in surprise and he turned his head toward the awaiting trio.

"Really?" he asked, getting back on his feet. "Cool! Hey guys! What's up?" Again, Tails surprised Shari. _Tails doesn't say, 'What's up?'. _That's when she noticed that there was something different about him. For one thing, he was wearing a pair of flight goggles above his head and his gloves were now a leathery brown instead of his regular white. For another, he seemed a bit taller and his fur was slightly darker. His once childish blue eyes now seemed to hold more wisdom and understanding. Yes, Tails was definitely older. Judging by his attitude, he was most likely in his early teens. _I'm guessing fifteen?_ Now that she really thought about it, Amy looked older too. She was more feminine and curved. Just like Tails, her eyes looked wiser. They had lost their childish innocence. While Shari was busy surveying the two friends, Mark had been telling them about Shari's current situation.

"So, we were wondering if you knew of a safe place for her to stay," Mark concluded and Shari realized that he wasn't asking them directly out of respect. He didn't want to seem rude. Tails was gazing at the dirt path in front of him, blue eyes calculative. Amy practically mirrored her friend's expression, though her cool jade eyes seemed more interested in the skies above her. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with a hidden knowledge and they immediately turned to Mark, eager to share.

"I've got it!" she cried, grabbing everyone's attention. "Why doesn't she stay here!" She turned to Tails, awaiting his response. He seemed to be thinking it over.

"Well…I guess this _would _be the safest place, considering we deal with Eggman all the time. _I _don't mind offering her protection, but…" and here he looked at Amy reproachfully. "I would appreciate it if you would _ask_ me _first_ all the same." Amy let out a nervous laugh.

"Er…Sorry, Tails. I can get a little ahead of myself at times." Tails rolled his eyes.

"You're tellin' me…"

"Hey! You're supposed to _contradict _me!" Amy barked, her eyes narrowed in playful hostility. Tails ignored her, turning instead to Shari, who had been standing there a bit uncomfortably.

"Well…I suppose you'd better come in then. Doesn't look like you've brought much-"

"Oh, I can take care of that!" Amy cut in, flashing an excited smile at Shari, who was trying to picture herself in one of Amy's typical red dresses. She mentally cringed. Tails, on the other hand, seemed to really see Amy for the first time. His eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"You _still_ have that?" he inquired her, referring to her choice of clothing. Amy laughed.

"Well, I had about a hundred of them and the store would only take 97. I had to keep a few. Actually, I was wondering if you'd notice. Seems you did..." She frowned at this. "_Dang it_! Now, I owe Marco a pizza!" Tails grinned at her for a moment, then turned to Mark.

"Well, I guess that covers just about everything. Thank you for your time." Mark smiled.

"Not at all. It was actually quite interesting." He turned to Shari. "See ya later, kid." Shari frowned slightly.

"I'm fourteen," she pointed out.

"Still in school?"

"…"

"Exactly. Now, where has John got to?" As if on cue, the said tiger let out a loud yelp and stumbled out of the garage, trying in vain to remove something from his hand. Tails shook his head with a sigh.

"Not again…," he muttered and hurried over to help him. John instantly started complaining.

"_**Ow**_! That _hurts_! _Why_ on _Mobius_ do you have a rat-trap in your tool kit!?" Tails, by this time, had removed the trap from the tiger's swelling fingers.

"To keep out people like you," he muttered. John trudged down the road, grumbling to himself. Shari waved at his retreating form.

"Bye, John. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Kay!" John called over his shoulder. She then turned to Mark, who surprised her by pulling her into a friendly hug. Then, he held her out at arm's length.

"If you ever need anything, be sure to let us know, alright?" Shari smiled and nodded at him. He gave her a quick smile before hurrying to catch up to his friend. Shari watched him leave for a moment. There was something about him that made her feel safe, like he was a protective older brother. Shaking her head, she turned to head inside.


	5. Good, Aren't They?

**What if you met your childhood hero…**

_**Chapter 5**_

The interior of the house wasn't very extravagant, just simple. Almost everything was white, from the couch to the walls and carpet. The only other colors were the obsidian kitchen counter and fridge, and the black flat-screen television hanging above the brick fireplace. In spite of being inhabited by an inventor in his mid-teens, the house was astonishingly clean. This was surprising to Shari until Amy explained that she came over many times to tidy up. "I enjoy it!" she proclaimed.

The house had several rooms: the hallway led into the living room which was connected to the kitchen. A doorway in the living room led to the garage, where Tails did most of his tinkering as a form of entertainment. His main workshop, along with his biplane, was positioned in the Mystic Ruins. This house also had two guest bedrooms, or rather, one guest bedroom. The other was occupied by a friend of his who came ever-so-often to stay with him. When Shari asked him why he didn't just stay at his own house, he simply gave her a nonchalant shrug.

"He doesn't have one," he replied dismissively. Shari immediately suspected this friend was none other than Sonic, but she wanted to here it for herself.

"Why not?" she asked. Tails smiled a bit distantly.

"I dunno. I guess he just likes sleeping under the stars. He only comes here when it's raining or snowing or something, though sometimes he comes here and sleeps on the roof."

"Sounds like fun," Shari mused with a smile. Tails nodded.

"Yeah. He does almost everything for fun. He even enjoys battling Dr. Eggman." Shari nodded in agreement, thinking of his many jeering comments and his typical smirk when something occurred to her.

"If…If saving the world wasn't fun, would he still save it?" she wondered. Tails looked at her, surprised.

"Of course!" he replied immediately. Then, his eyes got distant. "Actually, there was a time when it wasn't very fun for him, no fun at all. I think…I think he's taught himself to enjoy it so that it wouldn't be so hard…"(**Read **_**Rising Star**_**. Trust me, you won't regret it.**) He didn't say anything for several seconds, his deep blue eyes a whirlwind of emotions as he lost himself in the memories that accompanied them. Suddenly, he perked himself up.

"Anyway! I'll take you to your room. Come on!" He strode down the hall with Shari at his heals. Turning to his right, Tails followed the hallway a bit more until he reached a door at the end of it. Shari opened it, expecting to see a room, but was surprised when her eyes fell upon dusty wooden steps. Tails walked up the stairs wordlessly, and Shari hesitantly followed. They came to another door which, unlike the others, was a faded blue. The door creaked as it opened.

"Here you are," Tails stated, motioning to the room. The so-called 'room' was more of a dusty old attic. Cobwebs lined the roof-shaped ceiling which, like the floor and walls, was made up of wooden boards. The only furniture in the one-windowed room was a single bed with white sheets that looked like it hadn't been used in ages. Tails gave her a reassuring smile. "It's not much," he admitted ruefully, "but it's the best we can do on such short notice. I'll, uh…let you get settled in." And with that, the fox strode briskly out of the room, closing the door beside him with a soft click.

It was several hours before Shari finally declared the room decent. She'd gotten rid of all the cobwebs and most of the dust, including the large gray fluffs under her bed which she'd straitened out, spreading the pristine white sheets across a surprisingly comfortable mattress. Grabbing a bottle of Windex from under the bathroom sink, she had then vigorously scrubbed the small, half-circle window until it was finally clean enough to see out of, revealing the rolling hills outside.

Shari took a deep breath, absorbing the dust-free atmosphere. Suddenly, a distant rumble broke the silence. It sounded like thunder. Shari predicted a violent rain later that night, which set her in unusually high spirits. Shari loved the rain. At home, while everyone else would complain about being forced to stay indoors, Shari would contently sit at her bedroom window for hours and watch it poor, wishing she was allowed outside.

Then, something occurred to her. Tails had told her that Sonic only came over when it rained or snowed. It was going to rain. Once again, Shari found herself struggling to contain her inner-fan-girl.

Finally regaining control, she started to head downstairs, intent on feeding herself. She hadn't eaten since dinner of _yesterday_. Shari thundered down the stairs, keeping an eye out for either Tails of Amy. She soon discovered a note pinned to the wall opposite her door that appeared to be addressed to her. The note read as follows:

_Shari,_

_Sorry about leaving so soon, but I have loads to do in regards to the upcoming party! Be sure to call me if you need anything, or if you just get tired of Einstein and need to hear English (I would understand completely). But hey, I'll see you soon anyway cause we've got some shopping to do, girl! Later!_

_Love,_

_Amy _

_Well, that answers my question._ With this information, Shari strode purposefully into the kitchen, heading strait for the shiny black fridge. Tails had stuck a note on it's smooth surface telling her to help herself. She didn't bother looking for the fox; she was almost certain that he was back in his lab, working on another one of his numerous gadgets. Shari swung the enormous door open, feeling a cool breeze caress her face as she leaned closer to get a better look at it's contents.

One particular object caught her eye. Sitting among the assortment of meats and leftovers was a large white plate filled with chili-covered hotdogs. Shari could easily guess what they were there for, and therefore decided to leave them alone. Of course, Shari had never actually _had_ chilidogs before, so she found it extremely hard to resist temptation. _Why does Sonic like them so much anyway? _Eventually, curiosity won her over and she found herself removing the thin, plastic covering and setting the plate in the microwave. A few minutes later, Shari had her first bite of chilidog. It was _delicious_! _No wonder_ they were his favorite food!

"Good, isn't it?" Shari nearly choked on a piece of hotdog in her surprise. _That voice! It couldn't be…_ Whirling around guiltily, she found herself staring into deep emerald eyes. The light from the nearby window enhanced the gleam on his cobalt-blue fur. Her stomach dropped and, when he smirked at her in amusement, she nearly fainted. In truth, Shari had envisioned this moment since she was four, so her first reaction wasn't quite what she expected.

"Are you crazy! Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" He let out a small chuckle at this, and Shari's anger was instantly extinguished as she deflated like an over-loved party balloon. She glanced sheepishly at the remaining chilidogs, suddenly remembering who they belonged to. "Er…sorry. I, uh…." Shari trailed off in embarrassment. Sonic rolled his eyes in amusement at her guilty expression.

"I'm not gonna call the cops if that's what you're worried about." Shari let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah…no, sorry. I know these are yours. I just…I've always wondered what they taste like and…"

"And how are they?" he interrupted. Shari faltered slightly at his calm response before smiling.

"They're _amazing_!" she gushed, then glanced at the floor, embarrassed. Sonic shrugged.

"See? Told ya. Go on, help yourself," Sonic told her, reaching for one of the many chilidogs. Shari blinked in surprise.

"Really?"

"'Corse." Shari grinned at him before chomping down on another chilidog.

"Mmmm…." The flavor was _heavenly_! Sonic looked her over, curiously.

"So, ya must be that girl that I keep hearin' so much about," he mused. "Shari, is it?" Shari nodded, her mouth full of food. "Tails tells me Egghead brought you hear for some unfathomable reason. Can't think why…I had a run in with him myself earlier, one of his robots anyway. Was pretty easy, actually. I think Eggman starting to lose his knack. Still…," Sonic glanced at his right arm in annoyance. "I didn't get away _completely_ unscathed. The darn thing caught me off guard." Shari followed his gaze to the long gash on his arm, identical to the one on hers.

There was no doubt about it now. The dream was defiantly real.

Shari glanced at her own wound, now wrapped up in a comfortable bandage, courtesy of Mark. Sonic followed her gaze. He raised an eyebrow.

"Seems like you've got a 'battle scar' too," he joked. "How'd ya get it?" This time, it was Shari's turn to smirk.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Sonic's smile deepened as he leaned forward in curiosity.

"Try me," he challenged. Shari sighed. She knew that he actually _would_ believe her if she'd told him, but she wasn't really sure of how he'd react. She decided to just bait him and see what happened.

"Well, alrighty then. You've been warned." Shari paused dramatically as she watched his reaction. He had his attention fixed solely on her and he looked genuinely curious. "I got it…from a dream." Shari leaned back against the counter, studying him. He cocked an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.

"Really…," he murmured. Shari shrugged.

"Told ya you wouldn't believe me."

"Who says I don't?" There was a short silence as the two stared at each other. Then, Sonic continued. "So, what kind of dream was this?" Shari found it hard to believe she still had his attention.

"I dreamed I was running…and I loved it. And then…I fought this robot…sorta." At this, Sonic's ears perked up as his eyes widened in surprise. "It was weird. Kinda like watching a movie, only I could feel what he felt and hear what he heard."

"A robot…? What kind of robot?" Shari narrowed her eyes, trying to remember exactly what it looked like.

"I'm not sure…though I do remember it was red with yellow eyes…Oh! And It. Was. _Huge_! It's _gun_ was literally _ten times_ my size!" Sonic looked like he'd been tasered. Shari pretended to look perplexed at his reaction, though inside, she was dancing with glee. _Ha! And he thought __**he**__ was good at hiding his emotions!_

"Sonic…?" Shari questioned him worriedly. "Is something wrong?" At the sound of his name, the hedgehog seemed to be shaken back to reality. The shock that had previously dominated his face quickly vanished to be replaced by his trademark grin.

"Nope!" he replied cheerily, though on closer inspection, Shari could just scope out the evidence of his smile being forced. It was extremely difficult to locate, though. Sonic was a professional actor. Shari was enjoying her internal prank a bit more than she should, flourishing on the idea that she knew something he didn't. She couldn't resist teasing him a bit more. Putting on another mask, she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. Sonic's own mask slipped ever-so-slightly. "Uh…Shari?" he inquired, a _tiny _hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Something _is_ wrong…," she murmured, leaning a bit closer to make a big show of studying his expression. Sonic backed up half a step. "What are you hiding…?" On the outside, Sonic looked appropriately confused, though Shari knew that inside, he was franticly trying to think of an explanation. It took all of Shari's will power not to laugh right then and there.

"YEOUCH!" The loud, out-of-place cry was followed by several, ear-splitting, metallic crashes and a shrill electric whine. Sonic snatched at the opportunity as he instantly followed the source of the noise into the garage, calling out the young fox's name. His speedy getaway reminded Shari of the countless times he had run from Amy. Shari smiled with a sigh, shaking her head.

Some things would never change.

Me: Finally! That one took _forever _to write! I blame homework, lazy me, and spring cleaning. (phew) Anywho, look forward to the next chapter! After all, so far Shari has only visited out furry blue friend when he was awake. What happens if he's asleep? R&R Remember, how often I update depends on my amount of reviews! (Mostly because they make me feel guilty for taking so long to update…) So REVIEW!


	6. Nightmare

**What if you met your childhood hero…**

_**Chapter 6**_

Shari plopped down on her springy bed, exhausted. She and Sonic had spent the past two hours helping Tails collect and reassemble different parts of his newest gadget, which seemed to have a mind of their own (one of them attached itself to the interior of the satellite dish). Now, it was nearly 10:30, and the rain was making her feel sleepy. Grumbling about how she had to sit on the roof for an hour trying to convince a piece of machinery that the satellite wasn't it's long lost girlfriend just because _somebody_ didn't like getting wet, Shari slipped under her covers without bothering to undress, seeing as how she had nothing to wear. Not that she was complaining about the rain. She just wish the darn thing would electrocute itself already.

Shari fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the pillow, the rain already becoming a soft, soothing sound that gently lulled her to the land of her dreams.

'_**Oh yeah…'**__ was the first thing that came to her mind as she 'woke up' in Sonic's body. She found herself staring at a white ceiling, which almost instantly reminded her that Sonic had retired to his bed nearly a half-hour ago. Was he asleep? Shari felt exhausted. She automatically sat up to survey her surroundings. Now, she was looking at the wall. Excitement flooded through her, this time her own. She could control him! Sonic was asleep, therefore not in control of his surroundings, but __**Shari**__ was! Careful not to wake him up, Shari turned and stood on the soft white carpet. Looking down, she noticed he had taken his precious shoes off and placed them carefully at the side of the bed, revealing his clawed bare feet. She held her hands out in front of her to see that they too had no covering. _

_So…now what? The first thing that went through Shari's head was that she wanted to run. To try out his famous speed herself. This idea was immediately tossed aside for more than one reason. First of all, running would most likely wake him up. Secondly, there was no doubt in her mind that she would run into something. Shari was not used to maneuvering as high speeds, could not control her speed, and had no sweat clue how to stop. A couple of other ideas came to mind, but they too were out the window for one simple reason. Her conscience was bugging her. It kept asking her how would she feel if someone took control of __**her**__ body. Hadn't she already done enough by reading his mind? Besides, people sleep because their body needs rest. Shari didn't want Sonic to be worn-out in the morning._

_So what did that leave her with? Nothing. Nothing but laying there and waiting for morning to come. So that exactly what she did…for the first couple of hours at least. But, come on! She was __**so bored**__! Then, she noticed something else. The Sonic inside her head was worried. That didn't make much sense. Why would he be worried? He was asleep! Then, it dawned on her. His dreams! Sonic was dreaming! Having nothing better to do (and tired of battling her own curiosity), Shari tried to tap in to his emotions, focusing on his dream. _

_She was instantly flooded with chaos. Worry, pain, loss, anger, frustration, and…a cold, numbing fear. She had never been so scared. It was the kind of fear that grips your heart like black ice, suffocating it. The kind of fear that steals all reasoning within you, so that all that's left is your instinct to survive. Shari desperately tried to pull away, but found herself unable to escape as she was sucked into his nightmare._

_He was running, frantic, desperate. He had to get back. Something was very wrong. He had done as she'd asked, as she'd ordered. She'd made him promise, before he knew what she wanted, to save the child. Get the infant someplace safe. She'd get the others out, she had said. She told him to go. She told him to not look back. _

_The baby fox was safe. He'd made sure, because he'd promised he would. Now, he had to go back. Time was running out; he had to run faster. He tried to pick up his speed, to push himself beyond his limit. He tried to break the sound barrier. He'd never done it before, but maybe now, he could. He would, he promised himself, if that's what it took to save them. He concentrated on putting all of his strength into his small, seven-year-old legs. _

_Suddenly, there was a loud crash, threatening to slow him down and push him backward. He ignored it, pushing himself even harder, not realizing that he'd just accomplished his minor goal. His thoughts were on the people of the village. They were like his family. All of them. He'd been living with them for a year now, and they'd taken him in without question. All thirty-two inhabitants had opened their hearts to him and treated him as their own. They gave him the will to keep trying, when he thought he had nothing left to give. And now, they were in danger. "The tide has gone out!" she'd said, and they'd all understood. All but him. _

_Finally he reached the edge of the hill, the one that led to the valley below. Nothing could've prepared him for the sight that greeted him. The sea that had once lapped peacefully at the shores of the village had decided that the entire ocean wasn't enough. It wanted more. It had filled the village to the brim, sparing only the very tips of three houses. The rest had become a part of the churning chaos of timber, metal, baskets, toys… Was everyone okay! He frantically scanned the area for his friends, his speech shaky with worry as he called out their names. _

_His ears pricked up at the sound of a voice, someone calling his name. He immediately answered her, the relief unhidden in his voice, as he headed toward her, edging around the valley, following her sound. He found her, finally, clinging desperately to one of the few rooftops, her body mostly submerged, head barely breaking the surface as the water viciously tried to dislodge her grip. She was the same girl that had told him to leave. He ran toward her with a cry of alarm, jumping onto said roof and tightly gripping her arms just as she lost her hold. _

_She spoke to him as calmly as she could while he tried vainly to fight the current and pull her back onto the roof. She told him that none of this was his fault and that there was nothing he could've done. He didn't listen, too focused on keeping her above water. He was barely aware that he was slipping, but she was. She told him to let go, and when he refused, she screamed at him, pleading that he let her go, saying that he too would be pulled under. But he kept his grip tight, even as the waters removed him from solid ground. _

_Her hand was almost instantly knocked out of his as they were thrown against something. He panicked, unable to see in the murky brown water that threw things into him that he was unable to dodge, cutting his arms and legs. Where was she! He couldn't see anything. The water choked him. It threw him against the walls and ground, if that's what they were, and knocked the air out of him and forced him to breath in sand, mud, and water. He had no control. Slowly, after what seemed like hours, the pain started to dull. What little vision he had disappeared as he was plunged into blackness._

_He woke up, coughing and spitting out water. He'd been thrown against the hill and he immediately whirled around. The water had left as quickly as it came, leaving only small puddles among the destruction. Nothing was recognizable. He immediately rushed into the debris, searching for survivors, signs of life, __**anything**__. He found her bracelet under a collapsed roof and, after much digging, her. He scrambled back horrified._

_Fourteen hours later, he thrust in the last wooden cross at the end of the last, freshly hand-dug grave with torn and bleeding hands. Only then did he, the sole survivor, allow himself to break down completely, crumpling in fatigue and raw anguish among the thirty-two graves on the hill._

_Sonic awoke shaking. Shari own emotions nearly matched his own. She felt him sit up, slowly, as he placed his head in his hands. He forced his breathing to slow and calm, burying his emotions, or trying to. Shari could still feel them. _

'_**How many times am I going to have that dream?'**__ he wondered warily. He glanced out the window. It was not quite dawn yet and he knew he needed his strength for tomorrow. Unwilling to fall asleep for fear of dreaming, he instead lay in bed, whispering comforts to himself and, unwittingly, Shari. She listened as he reminded himself not to dwell on the past or the negative. She listened as he listed all of the good things that had happened to him since then, all the friends he had made, and why he appreciated them so much. Then he spent the rest of the night bringing up humorous memories and touching moments in his life, and Shari found herself laughing with him, warmed to the very core. _

_And yet, through all her laughter, Shari knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she would never look at her hero the same._

Me: (blows her nose and discards tissue into a ten foot pile) Waaaahh! So sad! This one didn't turn out how I thought. In fact, when I first started the chapter, I had no idea what the dream would be! But It. Was. _Awesome_! I'm just _really_ sick and tired of people making fun of him because of his fear of water! I _had_ to give him a good reason. Oh! In case you were wondering, the whole losing-his-village thing _will_ be turning up in _Gifted_…as soon as I get around to it. *sigh*


	7. Are We Done yet?

Me: AHHHHHHHHH! I am SO SORRY! I _know_ I said I'd have it up in two weeks! But, uh…My Aunt kidnapped me, and then we went camping, and then….

Roxy: Excuses, excuses.

Me: It's _true_! Oh! That and the seven-year-old Twins, Danny and Isaac, bothered Jake while he was working _again_ and, well…

*Insert destructive sounds here*

Isaac: (enters room with something that looks like a cross between a bazooka and a freakishly huge alien gun)MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (blasts hole through the wall and leaves through hole)

Danny: (enters room with bottle of gorilla-glue in one hand and feathered pillow in the other) Wait up! (follows his brother)

Jake: (enters room looking like a survivor from the explosion in the chicken coop that was in the news last Thursday) IF YOU DON'T GET BACK HERE IN THE NEXT THREE SECONDS I'M GONNA-

Me: *sigh* Can someone stop them please?

Roxy: (rolls her eyes) Why do I always have to clean up after you guys? (disappears into garage)

Me: I do not own Sonic n' co.

Roxy: (reappears with gun the half the size of her hand)

Me: (raises eyebrow) Uhhhhh…What is that?

Roxy: The cricket. You know, that building-demolishing-worthy gun from Men In Black?

Me: Oh yeah! Er, I don't own that either.

Roxy: CHAAAAAAAAARGE!

_**What If You Met Your Childhood Hero…**_

_**Chapter 7 **_

_It was about an hour before Sonic finally decided to 'wake up', and Shari was surprised that she herself hadn't woken up yet. Her dreams usually didn't last this long…Not that she was complaining. Sonic did, after all, have a pleasant buzz about him due to his earlier self-encouragement, and Shari was pretty sure that she could be content just listening to the quiet hum of his thoughts for the rest of the day. _

_By now, the sun had started to claim the morning sky, painting it with vibrant splashes of red, orange, and gold, which in turn cast an unearthly glow on the rolling countryside. Sonic readily stepped out into the hallway, apparently headed toward the kitchen for an early breakfast. Not once did his previous dream cross his mind, only a mild curiosity at what the new day might throw at him. _

_He had just opened the shiny black fridge to peer at it's contents when the front door was slammed open. This startled Shari, so that the blue hedgehog ended up suddenly standing strait up and bashing his head against the top of the fridge. Shari was trying not to giggle at his confusion as he tenderly nursed his newly acquired wound, when a call rang through the once-quiet house. _

"_**Tails**__! I'm giving you a grand total of three seconds to explain why I was attacked by a band of miniature robots or so help me-"_

"_Shhhhh!" Sonic quickly dashed up behind her to place a gloved hand over the source of the noise. "Quiet, Amy!" he hissed. "You're gonna wake everybody up." Amy pried his hand off her mouth and turned to glare fiercely at him so that Shari saw she had traded her usual red dress for jeans and a yellow spaghetti-strap shirt._

"_That's the __**idea**__!" she growled, though her voice had gotten noticeably softer. Her smile followed as she seemed to suddenly realize who she was talking to. "What are you doing here, anyway? I haven't seen you in __**ages**__! How are you?" she gushed. _

"_Thunderstorm, tell me about it, and fine," he replied smoothly, before flashing her his trademark smile. "You?" _

_Amy giggled slightly as she answered him. "I'm doing great! I've missed you, though. Seriously, where have you been all this time?" _

_Shari felt Sonic hesitate slightly, and she got a quick glimpse of glistening waterfalls, majestic mountains, and diamond caverns, all bustling with life, before he replied. "Oh, here and there. Hey, you know, you've really-"_

"_You're changing the subject," Amy stated pointedly, and Shari felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him. __**'How does she do that?'**__ he wondered warily. He was trying to come up with a reply other than what she was asking, when a sleepy looking fox wandered in, his twin tails dragging on the ground behind him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He squinted up at the two in the doorway, or three if you included Shari. _

"_Amy…wadda ya doin' here so early? It's six o' clock."_

"_Six-thirty," Amy mumbled sheepishly. Then, she crossed her arms accusingly. "And what, may I ask, was with those freakishly clingy robots outside?" Tails gave her a bored look._

"_They keep certain pink nuisances from waking their poor, tortured friends up at early hours of the morning," he mumbled before turning sluggishly toward the kitchen. Amy rolled her eyes, mumbling "Teenagers...", and followed him, brushing against Sonic as she passed. Sonic gave a slight start at her touch and his heart skipped a beat. Shari didn't really notice; her own thoughts were occupied with the purpose of Amy's visit. Then, she grew slightly wary as she suddenly recalled the day's agenda. _

_Shopping. _

_With Amy Rose._

_Her theory was soon proved correct as Amy cheerily strode down the hall, rambling about the "big day" she had planned. _

"_Hey, Sonic!" Tails called, and said hedgehog turned to face him. "While Amy and Shari are out today, maybe we should-"_

"Oh, Shaaaariiiii!" Amy sang, swinging the door open. "Time to get uuuuuup!"

Shari groaned. "Leamelone…"she mumbled, her voice muffled by her feathered pillow. She knew, however, that her protests fell on deaf ears.

"Come on, Shari! We've got a big day on our doorstep! Up!"

Shari groaned and defiantly pulled her pillow over her head. "Tell it to wait. Or better yet, go _away_. I'm _tired._" Amy's only response was grabbing the sleepy teen by her ankles and dragging her off the bed. Shari hit the floor with a startled yelp. "Hey!" She glared up at the smirking pink hedgehog who didn't appear the slightest bit intimidated.

"Well, come on then!" Amy called cheerfully, turning toward the stairs. Grumbling to herself, Shari picked herself off the floor and stumbled after her.

They soon arrived at the now-empty kitchen. "Now where has Sonic got to?" Amy murmured curiously, scanning the room.

Shari was unconcerned as she stuck her head inside the fridge. "I dunno. Him and Tails were gonna do something today while we went shopping."

Amy looked at her curiously. "Really? Did they tell you that?" she wondered. Shari froze. _Woops…_She hadn't thought of that. Luckily, Amy didn't really give it a second thought as she pushed Shari out of the way. "Move. You're taking to long," she stated, smiling. "Besides, I haven't cooked an omelet in ages!" Then, she turned inquisitively to Shari. "You want one?"

Shari shrugged. "Sure…," she replied, not really caring. She was never much of a morning person and it _was_ pretty early. While Amy was busy making breakfast, Shari wandered into Tails workshop, wondering just what types of gadgets he worked on.

In spite of the cluttered tables and work benches, the fox was surprisingly well-organized. All of his finished projects were kept on one side of the room, while the other was occupied by disassembled gadgets and gizmos that defied description. One of the gadgets was a silver circular object with a big red button in the middle. Now when one is exploring a genius' work shop and comes across a big red button, it is common sense NOT to press it. Shari seemed to be one of the many people who either lacked said common sense or simply chose to ignore it for the sake of curiosity. In other words, she pressed it. (**While writing this, I****STILL haven't figured out what said button does…**)

Nothing happened. Frowning, she pressed it again, then a third time before picking it up to examine it.

Along with the entire work bench.

Yelping in surprise, Shari dropped the gadget which had attached itself to the table. And yet Shari had somehow managed to lift it? She wasn't _that_ strong! Frowning once more, she tried to pick up the table. Too heavy. Then, she picked up the gadget and the table came with it.

Weird. Not only could she effortlessly pick up the table, but everything else on the table appeared to be frozen in place. Suddenly she got an idea. Smirking she pressed the button again, detaching it from the table, and placed it into her jacket pocket. She hoped Tails wouldn't mind if she borrowed it for a couple of hours, but this opportunity was just too good to pass up.

Then, she turned to a work bench full of unassembled gadgets. One particular object caught her eye. A pair of partially constructed hover-shoes. Shari grinned and her eyes glazed over.

Twenty minutes later, Amy called, "Breakfast is ready!" Shari groaned. She didn't want to eat breakfast yet. She was too busy! "Shari?" Amy called again, opening the garage door. Her eyes widened in horror. "_Shari!_" she screeched. That seemed to get her attention.

"What?" Shari asked innocently.

"Are you _crazy_! Tails is gonna _kill_ you!" Amy replied frantically, pointing an accusing finger at the pair of hover-shoes in front of Shari, who had a screwdriver in one hand and a God-knows-what in the other.

"Uhhhhhh…" It took a moment for her to realize what she had done. This wasn't her workshop. It belonged to Tails who had an IQ of over three-hundred. And this was one of his many projects. "I can fix it!" Shari insisted, frantically reassembling the hover-shoes. About five minutes later, they were finished. All they required was a paint job, but she figured she could leave that to Tails. "There! Good as knew! I hope…" She glance worriedly at Amy, whose jaw was practically touching the floor.

"What…How…_How_ on _Mobius_ did you do that!" she cried in bewilderment.

Shari looked confused. "Do what? Build this?" She motioned to the shoes.

"_Yeah_!" Amy replied with an expression that clearly spelled out D-U-H. "I mean, I've never met _anyone_ as smart as Tails! Well, aside from Egghead, but he doesn't count."

Shari laughed. "Oh, I'm not even _half_ as smart as Tails; I assure you! I just, uh, really, really like tinkering with stuff." She motioned to the shoes. "And besides, the only way I was able to build these was because he had already build the skeleton and put in the power source and stuff. I really just wired everything together and made some, uh…interesting modifications. I'm not even sure if it's gonna work…"

"Well, whether or not it's gonna work, we should get out of here!" Amy insisted. "Like, _now_! Maybe he'll think he built it and just forgot about it or something! I mean, he _does_ get pretty wrapped up in his work sometimes. One time his gloves caught fire while he was working and he didn't even notice!" Shari giggled as Amy dragged her out the door.

Then her eyes widened as something occurred to her. "Hold on a sec!" she told Amy as she rushed back in the workshop. Carefully picking up the hover-shoes, she gently placed them with all of the completed gadgets. Then she followed Amy up the small staircase.

"Are we done yet?"

"No. Stop asking."

"But I'm _tired_ and my _feet hurt_."

"We've only visited half the clothing stores!"

"You mean we're only HALFWAY DONE!"

"Almost."

"I hate this mall."

Amy sighed in exasperation. "Shari, you're a _girl_! Girls _love_ shopping!"

"I'm special," Shari retorted dryly, her voice muffled by the several shopping bags she was carrying.

"Oh, _come on_! It's only been four hours!"

"Who are we shopping for, me or you?"

"_Shari_!"

Shari sighed in defeat. "Sorry. I'm just grumpy cause I'm hungry." Well, technically it wasn't a lie. She hadn't exactly eaten anything this morning since in their hurry to leave, they left the omelet untouched. Though, honestly, what _really_ bothered her were the fifty-two shopping bags that were currently making it difficult to breath among other things, while little-miss-shop-a-holic was carrying a grand total of two. _Two_!

Amy considered her statement. "Well, I'm kinda hungry too. Why don't we stop for a bite to eat?" she suggested.

That alone was music to Shari's ears. "Sure!" Shari nodded enthusiastically, causing an avalanche of shopping bags. "Oh, great," Shari mumbled, trying to free one of her hands to pick up the fallen bags.

However, she never got a chance as a voice called, "Here, let me help you with that," and a pair of gloved hands started picking up the floored shopping bags. "Amy, could you at least carry _some_ of these? At least enough to let her see where she's going?"

"Yikes! Sorry Shari!" Amy squeaked as she scrambled to relieve some of Shari's load. Finally, Shari could see her rescuer: a green wolf with hazel eyes and a toothy grin.

His eyes widened as he saw her. "Hey, you're a human!" he exclaimed.

Shari gasped in mock-surprise. "Really?" she breathed, looking herself over.

The wolf laughed. "This ones got attitude! What's your name, kid?"

Shari frowned. "I'm fourteen."

"Still in school?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. So, what's your name."

Shari sighed in defeat. "Shari," she replied.

The wolf shook her hand. "Nice to meet 'cha, Shari. The name's Marco."

Shari narrowed her eyes. "Marco huh? Say…You wouldn't happen to be the same Marco to whom Amy owes a pizza, would you?"

"_Shari_!" Amy cried.

Marco laughed. "So, I take it he noticed then?"

Amy sighed. "Yeah…," she mumbled.

"Well, alrighty then!" Marco replied, cheerfully picking up the remaining shopping bags. "Why don't you join my friends and I for lunch at the over-priced Pizzaria?" Without waiting for a reply, he started heading off in the direction of the food court. With a groan, Amy reluctantly followed, mumbling something along the lines of "Why are we friends again?", Shari at her heels.

Me: Yay! I finished it! Took forever….oh well.

Roxy: (walks through hole-in-wall with Jake, Isaac, and Danny slung over her shoulders, whistling)

Me: Are they dead?

Roxy: Nope! I set it on stun.

Me: It has a stun setting?

Roxy: It does now.

Me: Oh…Hey, where's the freakishly-huge-bazooka/alien-gun-thingy?

Roxy: What gun?

*Insert shooting, screaming, maniac-y laughter, and sounds of mass destruction here*

Me: That gun.

Roxy: (drops cargo) *groan* Not again! *sigh* Oh well, who says I don't enjoy it?

Me: (looks worried) What? Shooting things or saving the world?

Roxy: Shooting things. CHAAAAAAARGE! (thunders out of room)

Me: *twitch* What….have I done…?


	8. You've Gotta Be Kidding Me

Me: Hey there! No, I'm not dead. You can murder me later. I had a severe (and extremely annoying) case of good old-fashioned writer's block.

Roxy: (swaggers in with killer-Godzilla-gun slung casually over her shoulder) That was fun.

Me: (sweat-drops) Er…Where have you been?

Roxy: Saving the world, remember? (dumps gun into my arms) Here ya go.

Me: (falls over from weight of gun, which falls on top of me)

Roxy: Author doesn't own Sonic, n co. . . . and will probably be unconscious for the remainder of the chapter.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"Nope."

"_Thirty-two dollars_ for a medium sized pizza?"

"Yep."

"Th-That's insane! That's _robbery_! Who in their right minds would eat _here_?"

Marco smirked. "Cunning people who's friends are willing to pay for them."

Amy folded her arms and shot him a pointed glare. "Willing…?"

"Uh…guys?" Shari whimpered. "A little help?" The two turned toward their struggling companion, who was currently trying to pick up the mountain of bags Amy had discarded while reading the menu. They hadn't even entered the, er, _restaurant_ yet and Shari was having a little trouble breathing.

"Oh, sure," Marco replied, stepping over to relieve the teen of her burden. Taking half the bags, he turned to the still-sulking Amy. "Ladies first." Sending one last smoldering glare in his direction, the pink hedgehog stalked through the cheery double doors. Shari hurriedly followed, Marco casually trailing behind, looking like he'd just won World War III.

"**MARCO!**" chorused a myriad of enthusiastic voices. Shari turned to see a variety of animals already seated at one of the booths, all grinning from ear to ear.

"You've won!" An brown-speckled sparrow exclaimed.

Marco pretended to be offended. "Tyler! You sound surprised!"

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be?"

"Ouch!" Marco joked, before turning to the table's other three occupants. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Shari. Shari, these are the guys." A silver wolf coughed. "And Jasper."

Shari managed to nod from underneath her luggage. "Great to meet you and all, but I think it might be better if I could actually see you…" Pointed looks were thrown at Amy, who was thoroughly engrossed in the menu, frowning over the prices.

"Amy-"

"Help her yourself. I'm _busy_."

Marco sighed, walked over to Shari, and started unloading her bags. Five minutes later, Shari seated herself next to a grey wolf and Marco began introducing everybody.

"Shari, this is Tyler,"

The sparrow nodded.

"Reeko,"

A lion smirked. "Hey."

"My sister, Jasper,"

The silver wolf smiled at her.

"And her twin, Ashes."

The grey wolf next to her shook her hand. "Charmed."

Amy soon returned to their table, looking triumphant.

"What didja get?" Jasper asked curiously, cocking her head.

"A large Hawaiian." Marco immediately opened his mouth to protest, but Amy cut him off. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. After all, the deal was I'd get you a pizza. You never said what kind." Marco sighed. Well, she _did_ have a point.

But that didn't stop him from mumbling, "I _hate_ Hawaiian…," and pouting like a five-year-old for the next couple of minutes.

"So," Tyler began, "A human on Mobius. How did that come about, pray tell?"

Amy shrugged, "Dunno…Egghead wants her for something, no doubt." That seemed to get Jasper's attention. "Wait…Eggman brought her here? How do you know?"

Shari gave a brief description of the symbol that had appeared on her computer, earning a groan from the silver wolf. "Not again…" she mumbled.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, this other human girl appeared at our house a few days ago. Had a pretty similar story too."

Ashes nodded in agreement. "Yeah…said her name was…what? Tyra? Tayra?"

"…Tayla?" Shari questioned. Everyone turned to look at her.

"W-Well…yeah, actually," Ashes murmured, confused. "How did you know." Shari said nothing, stunned. Tayla was a reviewer she'd befriended on fanfiction. They'd been delighted to find out they lived in the same neighborhood, and Shari ran into her every now and then. It couldn't be her, could it?

"Blond hair? Green eyes? Elaborate, multicolored clothing?" The twins both nodded, slowly. "She…She's a friend of mine. Sorta."

"So there _must_ be some sort of connection!" Amy pointed out. The fact that they both know each other _can't _just be a coincidence…can it?"

"Amy's right," Tyler confirmed. "There _has_ to be a connection. Maybe if we could speak to them both and compare stories, we could figure out what."

"Yeah," Reeko agreed, "Which reminds me, where _is_ Tyra anyway?"

"Tayla," Shari mumbled.

Jasper shrugged. "Beats me. She left a couple of days ago. Never said where, but hey, it's not like we own her or anything."

Amy gave them a dead-pan stare. "She left? She _left_? There's a madman out to kidnap her for a who-knows-what-but-knowing-him-it-can't-be-a-good reason and you let her _leave_? _By herself_!" The twins looked like someone had just hit them with a refrigerator. "Great…come on, Shari. We have to tell Sonic." Shari's stomach loudly protested. "After lunch."

"Drat…," Marco grumbled, glaring at Shari's midsection, which didn't seem to care in the slightest so long as it was appropriately satisfied.

Me: (still unconscious)

Roxy: See? Told you. Yes, it's short. Deal with it. The author will update with the next five reviews, though which story she updates depends on the results of her poll…*hint, hint* So please, review for her sake. Or at least to show her that this story's worth continuing.


	9. For the Love of Sandpaper!

Me: Now, most of you are probably wondering why it took me so long to update. The main reason? I didn't get a SINGLE REVIEW for THREE MONTHS! Another reason is that I took some enjoyable time off my computer to LIVE. You know, family, friends, and all that jazz. Soooooo…Enjoy!

"So…let me get this strait. A friend of Shari's has appeared in our world."

Nods.

"You knew it was Eggman who had brought her to this world."

More nods.

"And she disappeared…three days ago?"

Even more nods.

"And you didn't even think to _look for her_?" Tails had to refrain from smacking his forehead. "A _five-year-old_ could figure that out!"

"_Hey_!" Ashes cried, looking offended. "She _said_ she planned on leaving! How were _we_ to know she got kidnapped."

Tails was about to say something sarcastic when Amy put a hand over his mouth, giving the wolves an apologetic smile. "Sorry about him. He's in one of his teenage moody things."

"_I __**am NOT!**_"

"…I rest my case."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa_!" Sonic yelled, just barely holding back the seething fox. "Let's not start _this_ again! Right now, we've got more important things to worry about. Like where old Egghead's keeping Tyla."

"Tayla…," Shari mumbled.

Tails brushed Sonic's hands off of his shoulders, sending one last glare in Amy's direction before answering. "His most recent base is located here." He motioned to a map on the wall. "I spotted some of his scout bots through one of my satellites."

_Tails has satellites…?_ Shari mused, shrugging. After all, this was, what, seven years in the future? Who knows what could've happened.

"Across the globe, huh?" Sonic mused, adorning his audacious, carefree smirk. "Alrighty then! See you in a few!" And he was gone.

Shari just stared for a moment, the events of the past few minutes having not quite registered in her already-overwhelmed brain. Why in the heck would Eggman want them anyhow? They weren't strong _at all_. They were not exceptionally smart (well, not Tayla anyway…). And they couldn't really give him ideas for his global domination sc-

Shari froze. Of course. _Why _had she not thought of it before? It all made sense…After all, what was the _one_ thing she and Tayla had in common?

Fanfiction. _Duh_! They both read _fanfiction_! Which mean that not only did they know everything _about_ Sonic, and that alone would be a tremendous help, but they also…well…Fanfiction authors tend to have a habit of pushing the blue blur to his limits. Testing his strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes crushing him, watching him crumble, simply for the sake of drama. Which was fine since, apparently, fanfiction didn't seem to effect his life.

But they knew. They've read the stories and have explored the many different ways that Sonic could be defeated. Discouraged. Broken. They knew his greatest weaknesses.

Suddenly, Shari felt apprehension clawing at her stomach. Egghead had captured Tayla over three days ago. If she'd told him anything…

Sonic could be walking into a deathtrap.

She _had_ to warn him! But how? Its not like he carried a cell phone or anything…wait. Who needs cell phones? Quietly, Shari edged away from her still-arguing friends and dashed up the stairs to her room. Slipping her shoes off more from habit than necessity, she slid under her covers, wondering how long it would take for her to fall asleep and hoping it wouldn't be to late.

_Shari 'woke up' to the wind rushing past her. She could feel Sonic's apprehension. He was worried for her friend's safety. And who could blame him? He'd seen what Eggman could do. She also could feel the joy and adrenalin rush from Sonic's running. _

'_**That's not getting old quick.'**_

_Sonic nearly ran into a tree. __**'Who…what…?'**__ Then it dawned on him. "__**You**__ again!"_

'_**Yup!'**_

"_How the heck are you able to follow me?" __**'There's no way she's as fast as me, so what-'**_

'_**Oh, for the love of sandpaper! How many times do I have to say it! I. Am. In. Your. HEAD!'**_

"_That. Is. __**Impossible**__!"_

'_**So is running faster than the speed of sound! But that didn't stop YOU did it?'**__ Sonic had nothing to say to that and only sputtered indignantly for a couple of seconds. Shari sighed. __**'Look, I'm not here to argue. I'm here to tell you that you running straight into a trap!'**_

"_What? Are you sure?"_

'_**Positive.'**_

"_How do you know?" Sonic asked, part curious and part suspicious._

'_**I'm special.'**_

"_That's not an answer."_

'_**Yes it is.'**_

_Sonic scoffed. "In what world?"_

'_**Mine. Now shut up. I'm thinking.' **__Ignoring Sonics myriad of emotions, Shari tried to figure out what to do. Sonic __**had **__to save Tayla, but there'd be no way to get to her without killing himself. Not that that would stop him. So the question __**now**__ was how to convince him that this was too dangerous…_

_Yeah. Right. She might as well be trying to get a mountain to move. _

_Deep in her thoughts, Shari never noticed how close Sonic was to the base until he spin-dashed right through a guard robot. _

'_**What? How'd you get here so fast…right. Stupid question.'**_

"_I thought __**you**__ left."_

'_**Not until you quit storming the base! We need to figure out a way to do this without KILLING you!'**_

_Sonic destroyed another robot. "Why?"_

'_**You did NOT just ask me that!'**_

_Sonic ignored her._

'_**This isn't happening.'**_

"_Look, I __**still**__ don't know how your managing to talk to me, but whoever you are, you must've implanted something in my head which, in case you didn't know, automatically puts you on my 'Don't trust' list!"_

'_**I**__** didn't implant ANYTHING! Ever sense I got here, whenever I fall asleep, I wake up in your head. In other words, SO not my fault!'**_

_By this time, Sonic had gotten inside and was running along the many corridors, searching for Tayla. _

"_What's you name anyways?"_

'_**Mine?'**_

"_No, the robot I just toasted. Who do you think?"_

'_**My my, have YOU gotten sarcastic.'**_

"_You're avoiding the question."_

'_**No, I'm simply prolonging it.'**_

"_Well?"_

'_**Well, what?'**_

"_What's your name?"_

'_**Dave.'**_

"_But that's a __**guy's**__ name!"_

'_**So?'**_

"_You're a __**girl**__."_

'_**How do YOU know?'**_

"_I'm special." _

_Shari laughed. __**'Hey! That's copyrighted! Okay, okay. So I'm a girl.'**_

"_So what's your name?"_

'_**Uh…'**__ Suddenly Shari gasped. __**'Duck!'**_

"_What kind of name is-__**Whoa**__!" Sonic 'ducked' just in time to avoid a giant laser. Sonic quickly took it out. _

'_**Will you watch where your GOING!' **__Shari cried, wishing she could smack him._

"_It's not my fault! You're distracting me!"_

'_**Well, how can I not distract you?'**_

"_Stop talking."_

'_**NO!'**_

"_Why __**not**__?"_

'_**Because you're STILL heading toward certain disaster!'**_

"_**What**__ certain disaster?"_

'_**I DON'T KNOW! But its CERTIANLY will be a DISASTER!'**_

_**SHOOM!**_

"_WHOAAAAAAAAAH!" Sonic cried while Shari nearly went into cardiac arrest as they fell down the now-visible shaft. Shari decided right then and there that she hated trap doors._

_**SPLASH!**_

'_**Ohhhhhh dear…' **__Shari murmured, having long ago learned that Sonic + Splash = Not a good thing. Meanwhile, Sonic had some pretty colorful worlds running through his head, none of which he said out loud, but Shari could hear them none the less. __**'Hey! Watch your language!'**_

'_**There's water.'**_

'_**I know.'**_

'_**Its WATER.'**_

'_**We're gonna be fine.'**_

'_**Its rising.'**_

'_**What?'**__ It was. Though the room was pitch black, she could feel the once ankle-deep water was now rising past his knees. Shari could swim. Sonic…not so much. __**'We have to get out of here. Now.'**_

'_**Yeah…'**__ Sonic started walking forward, hoping that they'd hit a wall of some kind and trying to fight down the panic clawing around inside him. After a few feet, they hit a metal wall. _

'_**Good. Now walk along it so we can see if there's an opening somewhere,' **__Shari instructed in her calmest, most reassuring voice knowing she was probably the only thing keeping him sane. Sonic obeyed, feeling his way along the wall until they came to a part where the wall seemed to disappear, only to return further on. __**'Its a corridor!' **__Shari realized. _

"_A way out?" Sonic hoped, starting to follow it._

'_**So you're speaking out loud again are you?'**_

"_I still don't believe you can hear my thoughts."_

'_**Why NOT?' **__Shari whined. _

"_Because you-"_

_**Thud!**_

_Sonic ran strait into a wall._

'_**You know you have the worst coordination ever.'**_

"_It wasn't me; its dead end!"_

'_**Really?'**__ In truth, Shari was saying this not only to Sonic's declaration, but also to her own realization that the only reason Sonic was talking to her was to keep his mind off the water. Water that was now lapping at his torso._

"_Are we gonna make it out of here?" Shari was taken off guard by the blunt question. Usually, nothing worried Sonic. He had the never-say-die personality and would always be the one person to keep a cool head in a time of crisis. But now…Shari had seen the horror of Sonic's dreams. Of his memories. And now, in his own, nonchalant way, Sonic was asking her for reassurance. Shari thought he deserved it._

'_**Of course we are. The water has to come from somewhere. All we have to do is find out its source and follow it up and out.' **__Shari could only hope she sounded more confident than she actually was. _

_Sonic didn't protest, at least not out loud. __**'What if the shaft is too small for us to fit? What if the water rises before we find it? What if-'**_

'_**Sonic.'**_

"_What?"_

'_**Don't focus on the what ifs; focus on the now. Panicking isn't going to help us get out of here.'**_

'_**She's right about that. NOTHING will.'**_

'_**I heard that.'**_

"_Heard what?"_

'_**We ARE getting out of here. And if you're right, and the water DOES rise before we get out, I can still swim.'**_

"_Yeah, but that doesn't help __**me**__ swim!"_

_He wasn't going to like this. __**'…You're going to have to let me…take over.'**_

"…_**What**__?" _

'_**If I take over, I can swim for you.'**_

"_How?"_

'_**I don't know, but its possible.'**_

"…_And how do you know its possible?"_

_Shari hesitated. __**'Well, once we were both asleep at the same time and I was bored out of my mind so…yeah. When you're asleep, I can control your movements.'**_

_Immediately, she felt a wave of nervousness and anger wash over him. "What did you do?" he demanded._

'_**Nothing! I just sat up and laid back down. That's it.'**_

_Disbelief. "Really…"_

'_**I'm not lying. I already felt guilty for invading your personal space. I wasn't about to control you…I'd never do that.'**_

"…"

'_**But I was SO BORED! SERIOUSLY, I had to lie there and do NOTHING for SEVEN HOURS!'**_

"_You said you could read my thoughts."_

'_**Well…yeah.'**_

"_Doesn't that include when I'm asleep?"_

'…'

"_Well?"_

'_**You mean can I see your dreams…don't you?'**_

"_Yeah."_

_Shari sighed. __**'I didn't mean to. Really. I was actually trying to escape, but…I was forced to live your nightmare.'**_

_At the mention of the nightmare, both were brought back to the current situation. "We have to get out of here," Sonic stated. Shari could tell, though, from his current emotions that this conversation was far from over. To her surprise, she felt a sort of barrier form in his mind, and though she could still feel them, his emotions became more vague. _

'_**Sonic?'**__ No response. __**'Sonic!'**__ He didn't answer. In fact, he didn't seem to hear her at all. Not only that, but she couldn't hear what he was thinking. It must have been because of the dream. Without knowing it, Sonic had unconsciously shielded himself from her. He probably felt violated. After all, that dream was something she'd never seen in the shows, videogames, or comics. That dream was a memory he'd been trying to bury for who knows how long. In fact, she was probably the only person besides him who knew about it._

_Sonic didn't seem to notice the difference. "Fine, have it your way." He turned from the dead end, trying to find another way. __**'Maybe it just turns.'**__ He was right. The corridor turned to the left and Sonic followed it for a couple of feet, one hand on the wall, until suddenly, the wall disappeared, revealing another corridor. But this time, there was no dead end. The corridor continued in two different directions._

_Sonic and Shari both came to the same conclusion simultaneously. __**'It's a maze.'**__ The water was rising and they were trapped in a maze._

Me: Cliiiiiiffyyyyyyyy! Cliffy, cliffy, cliffy! OH! And guess what? SHADOW is in the next chapter! *insert hyper-dramatic squeal* Now, its not that I'm a Shadow fan girl (No offence. Seriously I LOVE you guys!), I just ADORE having him in stories, whether they be my own or someone else's! The reason it took me so long to write him was because his personality is sooooooooo hard to capture! Ask anyone. Except DgShadowChocolate, cause if you told her that, she'd be like "Seriously?" Yes DG, not everyone has your talent. Also, in case you didn't read my first note…*ahem* THE REASON I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE IS BECAUSE NOONE REVIEWED ME FOR _**THREE STINKIN MONTHS**_! No motivation! So, Review! …Please?


	10. Best Dream EVER

Me: It's ALIVE! About four months late, but still, It's ALIVE! I know, I know, I took forever. I place the fault entirely on the plot bunny. It deserted me! Again! That, and my muse went on vacation. Still, I am updating regularly now, once ever weekend. Well, not _just _this story, but still, it's a start! Anywho, this chapter is loooooooong overdue, so, enjoy! Happy Reading! ^_^ Roxy? The disclaimer please.

Roxy: You're kidding.

Me: Nope!

Roxy: That was not a question. You ARE kidding me.

Me: You know, you're name is just a typo away from being 'Rosy'…

Roxy: You wouldn't _dare._

Me: *insert demonic smile* _Try me._

Roxy: …Fine. The author doesn't own Sonic and co. Ya happy?

Me: Yep! :)

_Sonic __**panicked**__. _

_There wasn't really any other way to describe it. At the realization that they were trapped in a pitch-dark maze with the water rising, the hydrophobic hero's common sense pretty much fled, leaving Shari with nothing but raw, feral instinct. There would be no reasoning with him._

_Sonic took off in a random direction and Shari winced as they hit a wall. Sonic didn't seem to notice, his nerves going haywire. He just took off again, bounced painfully off another iron wall, and kept running. Shari felt like she was trapped inside a demonic pinball machine as the terrified speed-demon ping-ponged off wall after wall._

'_**Sonic!' **__she cried, __**'This isn't helping!'**_

_He didn't seem to hear her, only increasing his speed, unaware of the beating he was giving himself. _

_But Shari was. __**'Sonic, you're going to break something! You need to calm down!'**__ Her efforts were futile, though. Sonic was long gone, all of his wit and reason trapped beneath layer upon layer of sheer and absolute terror. _

_Bang! Sonic hit a wall. Bang! Another wall. Bang! Bang! Bang! Walls, walls, walls, there were nothing but walls, endless, unyielding, colorless, painful…They were trapped. There was no escape. The water was rising. No escape. Nothing but walls…_

_And suddenly, Shari wondered what would happen if she died here…What would happen to her if Sonic perished. They were connected, she had the scar to prove it, so wouldn't she die back at Tails'. Oh, how she missed it…She wanted nothing more than to be home, surrounded by her failed inventions, there, in her own warm bed, deep in a blissfully peaceful, dreamless sleep. _

_She couldn't die. Not here. Not like this. She was only fourteen…_

_She could feel his panic as though it were her own, so strong it nearly blocked out her thoughts entirely. She could no longer decipher where her emotions ended and his began, the barrier between them having all but dissolved in the chaos._

_The water was up to his neck now, slowing his movements, but not hindering them entirely. Now, he was getting nowhere, and just thrashed about wildly, panic, panic, panic. No way out. No escape. Water __**everywhere**__. He was drowning. He couldn't breath. He was going to die. No escape. Walls. Restrained. Water. Trapped. More walls. Helpless. Walls, walls, walls…everywhere._

_He couldn't save them. _

_He could here them screaming, as their huts were torn down mercilessly, crying, begging. And there was nothing he could do._

_He was too weak._

…

…

…

_Shari gasped, inhaled deeply, coughed, and gasped again. _

_**Air.**_

_She could __**breath**__! She stood on the tips of her toes, trying to reach what little air there was left in the tiny, water-filled shaft. Wait…she could move?_

_Shari blinked, yes blinked, as she warily tested an arm, feeling it respond as she pressed herself against the wall. She could feel his fur, __**her**__ fur, as the water stirred it about. Joy and relief flooded her system. She could stand! She could move! She could __**swim**__! _

_She could hardly believe it! It was a one-in-a-million chance, but it had somehow worked out. Sonic had withdrawn into his nightmares, involuntarily surrendering his body to its only other occupant. _

_Now, __**Shari was in control**__. _

_In a maze. With only one inch of air. And no way out._

'_**Drat.'**_

_Beautiful._

_That was the first word that came to mind as Tayla took in the landscape around her. Well…it was more of a cityscape, but still. Night had fallen, so that every light was on, their brightness piercing the inky blackness of the night, mirroring the stars above. Tayla had always been a city girl, preferring the chaos of downtown metropolis instead of the slow, dull life in the country. It was too quiet out there._

_She had an excellent view tonight. It was different than what she was used to, but it was mesmerizing all the same. From way up on the rooftops, the cars and people were mere dots, moving about sluggishly on strips of grey. All in all, it was defiantly a nice change from Egghead's prison cell, which was, in a word, __**boring**__. This sight was much more interesting._

_Actually, it was strangely calming. She was far above the city, with all of its fears and trifles, joys and thrills. She felt detached…distant. She was so high, she almost didn't want to ever come down. _

_Idly, she wondered if she was atop the tallest building; it was __**so**__ high, at __**least**__ eighty stories, if not more. It'd be fun to parachute from up here…_

'_**Should've brought my glider…'**__ she mused._

_Abruptly, she felt a random spike of adrenaline as she turned from her view of the city to whirl around behind her, every sense now alert. And as to…why? Not a clue. Dreams were weird that way. You sorta had to just play along till you woke up. Still, it made it simulating._

_Of course, she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone quite forcefully demanded, "Who's there? And what do you want?" The voice was surprisingly close, though she couldn't quite tell where it came from. It was very deep and eerily smooth, almost haunting. He, for that could __**not**__ be a girl, sounded strait and to the point, yet their wasn't a trace of fear. Only force. She loved it._

'_**Uh…Name's Tayla and I…er…I'm just watching the city. Yeah. Minding my own business…and stuff.'**__ Wow…could that have sounded any lamer? …Probably._

_Again, she felt herself stiffen, now even more alert than before as she searched for the source of the voice. Aw, man…she was wary. Which, knowing her dreams, probably meant the mysterious voice was a bad guy. Which stunk, cause he sounded __**cool**__. Why did all the evil guys get the best voices anyway? _

_She mentally sighed, for some reason unable to do so physically. Was she going to end up running for her life in this dream? Or maybe the bad guy was going to gang up with mutant zombies and attack her. Like last time._

'_**I'm reading waaaaaay too much Bioshock fanfiction…'**_

"_That was completely irrelevant," the voice stated, sounding annoyed._

'_**I'm talking to myself.'**__ Tayla corrected, as though it were the most normal thing on the planet.__** 'Obviously.'**_

_The voice was silent. Then, as he mumbled something about how talking to mental cases was a waste of his time, Tayla found herself turning and walking toward the edge of the building. Okaaaay…now what? Honestly, it was like living out a movie! She had no control. What. So. Ever. And it was annoying the heck out of her. And the worst part? She couldn't even pinch herself to wake up! Oh well, as least this one was interesting._

_Even so, she didn't necessarily appreciate jumping strait of the edge of an eighty-story building. _

_Therefore, she promptly screamed, __**'HOOOOOOLLLYYYYYYYY POOOOODDDLLLLEEEEEESSSSSS!'**__, and thereafter began to screech. All the while, she was thinking that maybe this dream was about being saved by the cool-voiced evil guy. After all, her dreams were never nonsensical (well, almost never), and always had some sort of plot, however creepy they may be. For this reason, her cry was immediately followed by, __**'Oh PLEASE let this be a Dr. Who parody! !'**_

_This myriad of shrieks for some reason seemed to surprise her, though exactly __**why**__, she didn't know. She was fairly startled as it was, what with the ground rushing to meet her at a __**hundred miles per hour**__. _

_She was confused, though, when she randomly turned around and landed on a nearby fire escape…without harming herself. Was she, like, invincible in this dream? She also appeared to be looking up to the point from which she'd fallen, eyes narrowed as though she was searching for something. _

_Right…this was getting aggravating. Usually, she knew why she was doing the things she did, but so far, save watching over the city, she didn't have a __**clue**__. It was bugging her. __**Immensely**__._

_Apparently, her dream-self didn't find what she was looking for, for she simply rolled her eyes and continued her decent, though at a reasonably slower pace, ricocheting off the walls the whole way down. And __**now **__she was an acrobat. Brilliant._

_As her feet his the ground, she started complaining. __**'You know, it WOULD**__**be nice to know what the HECK is going ON!'**__ Ignoring the familiar sense of alarm coursing through her, she continued.__** I mean COME ON. This has GOT to be the SINGLE WORST-'**_

"_Show yourself."_

_Okay…Apparently the cool voice was back. And demanding. Again._

'_**A bit pushy, aren't we?'**__ Tayla tsked._

_At this, the voice let out a low growl. And Tayla was officially creeped out. Not because of the growl, of course; she'd heard scarier sounds coming from her mutated dog-type-thing back home. No, what disturbed her was the fact that she could __**feel**__ the growl. In her own throat. This was…different. Understatement. _

'_**Freaky…'**_

"_Do not mock me," he ordered, a calm fury lasing his voice. A voice that, now that she was paying attention, she could feel in her own throat, as her own lips formed his words. As __**his**__ lips formed his words. Which explained her unpredictable movement. It was __**he **__that was watching the city, __**he **__that jumped off the building, __**he**__ that was searching, probably for her. She was inside his head._

'_**Dang…,'**__ she sighed. __**'Look, what do you want?'**_

_She felt his eyes narrow. "I wish to know whom I'm addressing."_

_Right…and she would do that, how? Suddenly, she got an idea. __**'Kay, you see that window over there?'**_

"…_I see it…"_

'_**Right, walk over to it.'**_

"_Why?"_

'_**Just do it.'**_

_He sighed, shaking his head and walking toward the window. Well, at least he's not stubborn. _

_Once he was in front of the window, he then demanded, "Now what?"_

_Tayla didn't reply. She was too busy having a heart attack. There, perfectly reflected in the glass window, was the scowling form of Shadow. __**The**__ Shadow._

'_**Best. Dream. EVER.'**_

__

When Sonic finally became aware of his surroundings, he found himself to be somewhere in the middle of a forest, laying against a tree. He mentally groaned; he felt like he'd recently become acquainted with Amy's hammer. And he was soaking wet.

At this realization, the events of the past few hours came rushing back to him. The maze! The water! He was drowning! He was dying! He was…out? Free. The relief that flooded his system was mingled with confusion. He didn't remember escaping…How did he get there anyway?

Puzzled, he sat up. Nothing happened. What? He tried again. Still nothing. Sonic, of course jumped to conclusions, mentally panicking.

'_I'm paralyzed…I'm PARALYZED! Oh my gosh, I'm PARALYZED! I-_'

'_Oh, shoot! I'm sorry! Here._'

And suddenly, he could move. Sonic blinked, sitting up slowly. Okay…What just happened?

'_Heh, woops. Forgot I was still in control…,_' someone mumbled. It was that girl…he _still_ didn't know here name.

He frowned. "_You_ again?"

He heard her sigh. '_Yes, me again. No, I haven't left yet. No, I'm not going to leave you alone. Anything else?_' She sounded tired.

"How did I get here?" he demanded. Then, he groaned as another wave of dizziness washed over him. "And why am I so sore?"

He could feel her annoyance. '_You're sore because the moment you learned we were trapped in a maze, you seemed determined to introduce your body to every wall you could reach. Can you say '__**ow**__'? You almost __**killed us**__! …By the way, are you alright?_'

Funny, even though he'd hurt her, she was still concerned about him.

"…I'm fine," he finally replied. "Just…tired. But you still didn't tell me how I got here."

'_You mean how __**we**__ got here._'

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

'_No, now 'whatever'. Whether you like it or not, you and I are both sharing the same body. So quit acting like I don't exist. I just saved you life, you know._'

His eyes widened. "Saved my life? What are you talking about?"

'_Well, see, after you…I mean, uh…_' She sighed. '_You know what? It would be easier if I just showed you._'

The drenched blue hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "_Show_ me?"

'_Yep!_' she replied giddily. '_I've __**always wanted**__ to try this!_'

He frowned. "Wait a minute, what are you-"

Too late. It all happened very fast. One minute, he was sitting against the tree, the next, he was back in the corridor as water swirled around him. Only this time, he was seeing it through the girl's eyes, so to speak. He could feel her fear and frustration. He felt her lack of control. He felt her helplessness and her desperation as she pleaded with him to come to his sense. He felt her pain as he slammed into the walls, felt their minds merge, heard his own thoughts.

Then, he felt her relief as she gasped for air, dread as the gravity of the situation suddenly hit her. He watched her listen, desperately, to find the entrance for the water. He struggled with her as she climbed wearily upward against the flow of the water, fighting panic and exhaustion in the hope to see the sky once again. He felt her slip, regain her balance, and keep climbing. Through her struggle, he felt her yearn to awaken from this nightmare, only to fight venomously against the yearning. She couldn't wake up yet. She had to save him.

Suddenly, the world came rushing back, and he was leaning against the tree again.

'…_Did it work?_' she asked him. He swallowed as he slowly sat up, still slightly overwhelmed with what he'd just experienced.

'_Sonic?_'

"I'm here…"

'_So…did it work?_'

Sonic chuckled. "Well, that depends. What were you trying to do?"

'_Um…_' she hesitated. '_I was trying to show you what happened._'

"By…?"

'_Well, I figured since you can hear my thoughts, maybe you could see my memories as well._' She sighed, and he felt her disappointment.'_It was just an idea. Oh well…_'

"It worked."

'…'

"I pretty much lived the past few minutes from your point of view."

'_Really?_'

"Really."

'…_Cool._'

Chuckling again, Sonic gingerly stood up, wincing every now and then. The girl immediately protested.

'_What do you think you're doing?_' she demanded.'_You need to rest!_'

He stretched out his back as he rolled his eyes. "I did."

'_No, you didn't_.' she contradicted. '_I __**just**__ sat down!_'

"It's been a few minutes…"

'_Sonic-_'

"Look, kid, I've got someone that needs rescuing, so if you'll excuse me-"

'_But that's what I've been trying to tell you!_' she interrupted. '_Eggman's probably got tons of other traps like that in there!_' Then she huffed indignantly. '_And I am __**not **__a __**kid**__!_'

Sonic shrugged as he continued to stretch. "So he got lucky once. Don't worry so much."

'_Oh, believe me, Sonic, this was __**not**__luck._'

He frowned. "What makes you so sure?"

He felt her hesitate. '_It's a __**really**__ long and __**very **__complicated story…_'

"I'm listening."

'…_Didn't you have someone to save?_'

Sonic sighed. "Yeah…look, I appreciate the concern, really. But don't worry; I promise I'll be more careful."

'_Riiiiiiight…._'

"No, really! I'm always more careful when I'm protecting someone."

'_Sooooo…does that mean you__** finally**__ believe me?_' She sounded smug.

He sighed, pinching his eyebrows. "Yes, I believe you. You were right. Happy?"

'_Immensely._'

"Right, now that that's settled, let's go and get Tyla, shall we?"

'_Tayla._'

Sonic froze. "…What?"

'_Nothing! Let just go and find her, okay?_'

He didn't reply. He just stood there, quietly fitting the pieces together. No…It couldn't be…

"…Shari?"

Me: Aaaaaaand Done! So, basically, Sonic now knows that he is the dream-buddy, as a reviewer called it, of non other than Shari. _And_ that they've got some sort of mental connection. And Tayla's connected to Shadow. Hilarity ensues. Oh! And what I update next week depends on what get's the most reviews! So let me know your opinion on this chappy! How did I do? What do you think? Happy Reviewing! ^_^


	11. Turn! Turn! Turn! TURN!

Me: I have a million excuses for my lateness, none of them necessarily justified. Oh, and have you ever been sick? I was, for, like a week, which was followed by a week-and-a-half's worth of make-up work. Which would've been fine, if not for the abundance of March birthdays, every one of which I was forced to attend. And just who has a birthday party on a _weekday_ anyway? Last week, when the make-up work was finally out of the way, I got addicted to Riven (elaborate puzzle solving game). And then spider solitaire. Yeah….But I'M BACK, and I'll try to make up for it.

Oh! Message to Starburst4106! First of, Longest. Review. Ever. Secondly INPORTANT NOTICE: I update ANY of my stories every weekend, not just this one! Yes, I haven't updated anything in over two months, but now I'm gonna start stocking up chapters so that next time life sneaks up on me, I'LL BE PREPARED! …Yeah, So enjoy! Happy Reading! ^_^

_**BOOM!**_

'_**YIPE!' **__Shari squeaked as Sonic instinctively dove away from the explosion. __**'What the HECK was THAT!' **_

"_They must've spotted us," Sonic replied before chuckling. "Egghead'll be pretty ticked I got out of that trap of his." _

_Then he felt a twinge of annoyance from his companion. __**'Ahem.'**_

"_Oh, right. That __**you**__ got us out of there. My bad." He chuckled, getting to his feet. "Now, lets go and rescue Tyla."_

'_**Tayla.'**_

"_Whatever." And with that, Sonic took off toward the fortress. After a few moments, Shari began to wonder why he hadn't said anything about his recent discovery. Truth be told, she was mentally panicking. When Sonic had finally sawed through the base's outer wall, she couldn't take it anymore._

'_**So…You're not…gonna lecture me or anything?'**__ she began meekly._

_Sonic trashed a robot before zipping around a corner. "Why would I lecture you?"_

'_**Oh, cause…well, I didn't tell you who I was?'**_

_Sonic sighed. "There's a time and a place. Right now, our main focus is rescuing…that friend of yours."_

_This did absolutely nothing to ease Shari's nerves as dread pulsed through her. '…A time and a place…' was a close relative to 'Just wait till we get home…' and a cousin of '__**We**__ need to __**talk**__.'_

_Sonic sensed her fear as he vaulted a support beam. "You okay, Shari?"_

'_**Huh? Oh…yeah, I'm fine,'**__ she murmured, then changed the subject. __**'So, do you have any clue where Tayla is?'**_

"_Nope." Sonic trashed a robot, completely unconcerned._

'_**What? Then were are we going?'**__ Shari demanded._

"_Well, you see-" Sonic paused to saw through the ceiling, landing on the floor above. Taking off again, he continued. "Tyla isn't the first person-"_

'_**Tayla.'**_

_Sonic rolled his eyes. "Your friend isn't the first person I've rescued, you know. While Eggman may always move his prisoners, they're always kept pretty much in the same area, near his main control room. So, I figured we could head in that direction, and then work on from there." _

_As he spoke, Sonic was sprinting down a random hallway. At the end, the blue hedgehog screeched to a halt. "Dead end," he muttered, turning to head in the opposite direction. He'd gotten no more that ten feet before he was suddenly propelled backwards by an invisible force. "What?" Sonic walked forward, hand outstretched, until it came to rest against the unseen barrier. It glowed green where he touched it._

'_**Sonic, what is that?'**__ Shari inquired, bewildered._

"_Forcefield," he replied. He drew back a fist and struck it. Nothing. Then, he turned and ran back toward the wall, jumped off it, and spin-dashed strait into the barrier. Instead of shattering like expected, the forcefield held in place, unwavering, as Sonic bounced harmlessly off of it. _

_Sonic frowned, feeling slightly worried as he got back to his feet. "I've never seen one this strong before," he muttered, placing a hand against it. "Or this color, for that matter. It must have a different power source."_

_At this observation, Shari felt like sticking her head in the nearest microwave. She knew what was powering the shield. It was a mixture of Mobian alloys thought up by a rather ingenious fanfiction writer. Tayla must've given Eggman the information. Drat. Even though it wasn't her fault, guilt prickled her conscience._

_Again, Sonic sensed her distress, and was about to ask her what was bothering her, when…_

'_**Oh, no…,'**__ Shari groaned as a thick purple fog began to filter into the room. Knockout gas. A tiny corner of her brain wondered why Eggman didn't just poison them, but the thought was wiped from her mind as Sonic began to frantically spin-dash against the walls. Shari knew, however, that it was useless. Eggman wouldn't have trapped them in here if escape was that easy. It was only a matter of time before…_

_Everything went black._

_Shari groggily opened her eyes. What…? Where…? She sat up slowly, groaning. Her head was throbbing and she felt slightly nauseous. What had hit her? _

_Drowsily, Shari took in her surroundings. She was back in the hallway. With that realization, the past few minutes came rushing back to her: the forcefield, the knockout gas, etc. What had happened?_

'_**Sonic?'**__ she called, trying to reach him. No response. Shari closed her eyes and concentrated, mentally searching for his presence. It took a while, but she found him. He was fast asleep, buried deep in his dreams. He didn't seem anxious, though. Good. That meant it wasn't a nightmare._

_In the meantime, Shari was once again in control. Huh? Didn't knockout gas affect the body, not the mind? So how could she…?_

_A metallic clanking startled her out of her musings. Robots! Shari struggled to her feet, checking herself over. Yep, this was Sonic alright. Fur, quills, gloves, shoes, some sort of watch-type-thing…Probably a communicator. As long as he was asleep, she'd have to find Tayla on her own. Sonic had given her the basic directions. _

_Hopefully, he'd wake up by the time she neared the main control room. Until then, she had to somehow avoid the myriad of robots, traps, lasers, and God-knows-what-else. By herself. With absolutely no experience. What. So. Ever. _

"_I mean, __**come on**__!" she whined. "I'm just a mechanic! I work with __**computers**__ and __**electricity**__ and…and…" Shari blinked. "Wait a minute…That's it!" Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it before! _

_All she was really dealing with was incredibly advanced technology, right? And all electrical things, wireless or not, required some sort of signal to operate, something to tell them what to do. So, all she had to do was find the source of their power! How hard could it be?_

_Step one, get rid of the invisible shield. Shari stood up and slowly walked toward it, arms outstretched like a blind man. After about six feet or so, she glanced behind her in confusion. She could've sworn the shield was behind that hall light. Hmmmm…Well, she had been knocked out. Maybe her memory was fuzzy or something. _

_She kept walking until she reached the end of the hall. Or maybe the shield was gone? Why did Eggman take down the shield? Was it because he didn't think he needed it? After all, Sonic __**had**__ passed out. _

_Awesome. So, step one was completed. Step two, find the nearest computer. This proved to be easier said that done. Shari wandered around for about twenty minutes before starting to get frustrated. Meanwhile, she had to be making her way toward the control room, but all of the hallways looked the same. Wasn't there a map around here? She'd probably find one on the computer…_

_Speaking of which, there it was, attached to the wall of one of the hallways! Finally! Shari started toward it, when two patrol bots randomly floated around the corner. _

'_**This is just NOT my day…'**_

_The robots immediately noticed her and began to shoot at her. Now what? This wasn't Matrix! She couldn't exactly hack into a computer and dodge bullets at the same time! With her lack of experience on the battle field, she couldn't fight the robots either. The only other option? Run._

_Shari whirled around and ran, the robots on her heals. It wasn't long before the hallway bent left. Unfortunately, She didn't have very much running experience either, especially not at those speeds._

'_**Turn! Turn! Turn! TURN!'**_

_**THUD.**_

"_Ow…" She had no time to nurse her damaged nose, however, for the robots were still after her. So, she got up and continued running. Right, she'd have to turn waaaay before she normally would. Her timing would have to be perfect. Vaguely, she wondered how many of Sonic's scars were from getting up close and personal with a tree._

_Her opportunity to perfect her timing came very soon, and when she was about thirty feet from the turn, she veered right. The pain wasn't as intense as before, but she was pretty sure she dislocated her shoulder when she slid against the wall. She carefully rolled her shoulder, testing it. Nope, it was still in its socket. She'd just have to turn earlier._

'_**Here comes another,'**__ she thought. __**'Wait for it…Wait for iiiiiiit…NOW!'**_

_**THUD.**_

"_Oooooooh…A bit too early…," Shari groaned as she got back to her feet, hand on her nose. It was bleeding. Lovely. She walked the last two feet to the corner, turned, and continued to run. So focused was she on perfecting her turns that she didn't even notice she'd left the robots far behind._

_About twelve failed attempts later, she stumbled across another computer. _

"_Wooooooow…" she murmured, then whistled. "Look at you…You're a fancy once, aren't you? Now, let's see what you…" Shari paused, frowning. She sighed. "Shari, you're talking to computers again. You have __**got **__to stop doing that…and talking to yourself while you're at it. Now, passwords…passwords…"_

_It only took her ten minutes to hack into the system, locate the signal, shut it down, and find a map. It turned out, the control room was about eleven floors up. How the heck was she supposed to get up there? She remembered Sonic smashing through ceilings…_

_Nope, not doing that. Sonic probably knew the complex by heart, so he'd know what ceiling led to what floor. If she tried that, even with the map, she was sure to get hopelessly lost._ _Besides, she wasn't the smashing through metal type. _

_So how was she going to get up eleven stories? Well, how did Eggman or the robots get up? There must've been an elevator around here somewhere…Huh. The maps didn't show anything, but then they didn't show the doors either. She decided to just search for one._

_Of course, it didn't take long for her to get hopelessly confused. Honestly, for an inventory, Eggman wasn't very creative! Every hallway was __**exactly**__ the __**same**__! Because of this, she didn't have a clue that she was actually going backwards. So she had no idea she was back in that particular hallway-you know, __**that**__ one-until the knockout gas suddenly reappeared._

"_Oh __**come on**__!" she whined, pressing herself against the wall. _

_In the far corners of her mind, she vaguely felt Sonic regaining consciousness. He mumbled a groggy, __**'Wha…?'**_

_Then every thing went black._

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Once again, Shari found herself slowly regaining consciousness. Right, this time she was going to _study_ the map, not just glance over it. It also might've helped if she had looked up where the elevators were. Vaguely feeling like something was missing, Shari slowly opened her eyes. She was staring at the attic roof.

…

WHAT! Shari bolted upright, frantically taking in her surroundings. She was back in her bed, in the attic. She woke up! How could she have woken up? Last time Sonic passed out…But then, he was the one in control. And now that she was in control…Oh no. Now Sonic was stuck unconscious in a base crawling with robots! Well…powerless robots, but still. What if Eggman got to him? He was helpless, unable to defend himself! He couldn't even run! She _had_ to fall back asleep!

Slamming her head back into the pillow, she shut her eyes and waited. And waited. And waited. And…

She wasn't falling asleep, nor would she anytime soon. After all, she'd already technically been asleep for, what? Three hours? The sun was setting…Four hours? Her body was already completely rested and wide awake. But she _had_ to fall back asleep! Did Tails have, like, sleeping pills or something? With that thought in mind, she scrambled toward the door and down the stairs, heading toward the bathroom. As she ran through the hallway, bits of conversation made their way toward her disinterested ears.

"…ank goodness it's you! You had Tails worried sick!" Amy's voice scolded.

"I was _not_!" came Tails reply from somewhere farther away.

Amy ignored him. "Do you have her?"

"_Yeah, I have her._"

Shari froze, her hand on the bathroom door. She knew that voice. It was distorted by the buzz of bad reception, but it was undeniable. Sonic was OKAY! He must've woken up at about the same time she passed out!

"Awesome," Amy responded. "How was the defense?"

"…_Actually, it was pretty wacky this time._"

"Wacky?"

"_Yeah…I mean, it started out normally, typical robots, lasers, etc. But then we got trapped in this maze with-_"

"Wait, wait, wait…," Amy interrupted. "'We?'"

Sonic hesitated. "…_Iiiiiiit's a bit of a long story. I'll explain when I get back._ _Anyway, Egghead set a pretty tough trap for us, but we got out okay. Then we start storming the base again, and next thing I know, all of the robots start malfunctioning._"

Tails poked his head into the room, suddenly intrigued. "Malfunctioning? How? What do you mean?"

"_I mean they were just…dead. Shut down. Not working. Whatever. And so was every other weapon in the base. I just waltzed right in, nabbed Tyla, and left._"

"Talya…," Shari mumbled to herself, now peeking through the crack in the door. No one heard her.

Tails was going into one of those moods, the ones where you could practically see the gears turning in his head. "But…The only way that could've happened is if Eggman shut them all down…That or someone hacked into his system which, of course, is impossible. Believe me, I've tried."

Time stopped.

Shari had effortlessly hacked into a computer that Tails was unable to access.

No. Flippin'. _Way_. She…She wasn't _that _smart! No, it couldn't be that. She may be a genius, but she wasn't…well, she wasn't _Tails_. Then how…could…she…It…I-It must've been because computers weren't really his thing. He was an _inventor_ and a _mechanic_. Shari was just a…computer nerd, for lack of better term. Yeah, that was it.

Sonic, however, didn't doubt the possibility. "_Ahhhh…That explains it. I'll have to remember to thank her for that._"

"Thank who?" asked Tails.

"Long story," Amy replied. "Says he'll explain later."

"Oh. Okay."

"_Oh! And, uh, how's Shari?_"

Tails and Amy glanced at each other, confused by the seemingly random question.

"Uh, she's…um…"

"I'm right here," Shari interrupted, stepping fully into the room. "I was, er, sleeping. I just woke up."

"_Oh, good_," Sonic replied, sounding relieved. "_Anyway, I'm heading back, so don't wait up. Oh, and I should warn you, this one's just a liiiiiitle-_"

"_Hey, who're you talking to?_" a feminine voice interrupted him."_Can I see? What is that? Is that a WRIST COMUNICATOR! Ohmigosh, it IS! Lemme see! Lemme see!_"

"_Uh-Oh shoot! Gotta go!_"

As the transmission ended, Shari chuckled, shaking her head. Yup. That was Tayla alright.

Me: Aaaaaaaaaaand done! Not my best, but hey, it's SOMETHING! It took me a long time to write this because I got stuck. Note to SELF: Never write a cliffhanger without knowing what will happen next. _Duh_. Oh yeah, and I HAVE A NEW POLL! Anywho, I hope to update this story soon, though I may work on something else for a while. It kinda depends on which story gets the most attention. Happy Reviewing! ^_^


	12. Tayla

About and hour-and-a-half later, the sound of a door slamming open echoed though the house. Amy glanced up from her cards, smiling.

"Sounds like Sonic's back with Tyra," she announced.

"Tayla," Shari corrected automatically, putting down her four jacks to peer in the direction of the door, the twin wolves following suit. Tails didn't even glance in their direction, too thoroughly engrossed in the game as he scowled at his cards, mumbling about how the game must be rigged.

Sonic half-staggered into the room moments later, looking exhausted. All eyes (except Tails') followed his ragged form as he immediately crossed the room, flopped down face-first into the couch, and fell fast asleep. They then turned nervously to the door. A young girl soon waltzed in, freezing in mid-step as her bright green eyes fell on the group of card players.

She stared at them.

They stared at her.

No one noticed Ashes slowly sink down in an attempt to hide under the table until…

"FLUUUUUFFFFFYYYYYY!" the girl suddenly cried as Ashes freaked out, vaulting over his chair and running for his life. He wasn't quite fast enough though, for just before he reached the door, the girl tackled him with an animalistic pounce, ramming strait into his back.

"Aaaagh!-_Oof_!" Ashes yelped. Her fuzzy brown boots flew up into the air as they both fell to the ground.

"Ohmigosh! Ican'tbelieveit'sreallyyoooooou!" she sang, her eyes shut tight as she buried her face into his fur.

Ashes moaned from his position on the floor, his head in his arms. "Ugh…Hi…Tyra…"

The girl instantly sprung to her feet. "It's TAYLA!" she cried, whacking him with her fuzzy brown book bag.

"_Ow…,_" Ashes whined. "Well my name's _not __**Fluffy**_!"

The girl ignored him, looking over the room until her eyes fell on an amused Shari.

"SHARI!" she cried, rushing toward her. Shari was ready for her though as she stood half to the side, bracing herself. When Tayla tackled her, she only had to back up two or three steps. "What are you _doing_ here?" Tayla demanded, her whole face stretched into a grin. Having know her hyperactive friend for quite some time now, Shari didn't even attempt to answer, instead smiling warmly as she continued.

"Can you _believe_ this? Are we _dreaming_? It's this _so freaking __**awesome**_! I was, like, held hostage and then this weird robot was asking me all of these wacky questions and then _Ohmigosh!_ Sonic _rescued _me! And then we were, like, running, only I wasn't running cause Sonic was running and it was _so fast_ and we burst through a freaking _wall_ and then-Ohmigosh! Is that _Tails_!"

The fox, whose attention had finally been stolen from his cards, suddenly paled under his fur. He had no time to react as a bright blur of color suddenly rammed into him, knocking him clear off the seat. "Ohmigosh, he's _fluffy too_!" Tayla cried as Tails struggled to sit up. Shari grinned, shaking her head as the rooms un-tackled members attempted to quietly sneak away. Calmly crossing the room, she joined poor Sonic on the couch, taking in the view. This could take a while.

"AMY!"

"_Oof_!"

_**Thud.**_

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

It took about an hour to get Tayla to sit down, and that was after she had tackled every person within eyesight (including a very startled mailman) and raided the fridge. She was currently sitting on a stool at the obsidian counter, munching contentedly on some potato chips. It was the first time she had actually sat still since she arrived, so everyone was pretty much sitting around, catching their breath as they stared at her. She didn't seem to mind, completely ignoring them for the time being as they took in her appearance.

Shari hadn't been kidding when she'd said 'elaborate, multi-colored clothing'. Tayla was currently wearing a long-sleeved lime green shirt with lacy cuffs and a bright, neon-yellow t-shirt over it, which proudly displayed in bright blue lettering: "You laugh at me cause I'm different. I laugh at you cause you're all the same!". Her short, multi-colored skirt was covered in random patterns, from checkers to polka dots to floral designs.

Long, rainbow-colored stockings protruded from her fuzzy, beaded brown boots. Her dirty-blond hair was done up in dozens of braids, some of which looped up to be reattached to her scalp while others hang down. Lastly, she had on about three beaded necklaces and four or five mismatched, hoop bracelets on each wrist.

While the rest of the group was entranced by Tayla's appearance, Shari wandered over to the couch where Sonic was sitting and sat down. He was now awake but still looked rather tired. Shari chuckled as Sonic turned his attention to her. "She a handful, isn't she?"

"Yeah…," Sonic groaned, flopping back down on the couch. "If you think her reaction to the rest of the group was over-the-top, you should've seen her when I first came to rescue her!" Shari laughed as he ranted. "I mean, first she's really quiet and staring, then she starts _screaming_, and then she just wouldn't _shut up_! It's like she couldn't believe I actually existed!"

"Well, what did you expect?" Shari giggled. "You kind of _are_ her hero after all…"

Sonic blinked in confusion. "But…Didn't she come from earth? How could she know about me? I'd certainly never gone their before." Shari shut her eyes. Drat. Her and her big mouth. Not that Tayla would've kept quiet about it, but still...She was about to try and explain, but Sonic had already changed the subject. "And what about the whole crazy reading-my-thoughts thing?" He crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back, expectant emerald eyes trained on her nervous expression. "Care to explain?"

Oh boy. Shari sighed. "Actually, I can't really explain it myself." Sonic raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, patiently waiting for her to continue. "It only started when I got here. The first time was when I had fallen asleep under this tree while I was waiting for the rescue helicopter. I dreamed I was running, and I loved it, but I couldn't move."

Sonic nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah…I remembered feeling this weird sense of fear. I was kinda confused."

"That was me," Shari confirmed. "The second time you remember well, when we were fighting that robot."

"Thanks for the help, by the way."

"You're welcome. The third time was when you were asleep…" Sonic's smile vanished. Shari frowned as she continued. "That…That's where I figured out I could move when you were asleep. I wasn't even trying to move; it just sorta happened." Sonic stayed quiet, staring off into nothing.

"Anyway, I decided to just lay there and let you rest cause, well, I didn't really have any right move anyway, and…I-I laid there for _hours_ just day-dreaming because I was _so bored_…and then you started to get scared." Sonic tensed.

"I was confused, cause, like, how do you get scared when you're asleep. So, I tried to figure out what was scaring you and…I…couldn't get out." Finished with her story, Shari dared a glance over at him. He didn't really look angry, or even hurt. He was just…thoughtful. He still looked sad though. "I'm sorry," Shari muttered. Sonic didn't even glance at her. She could tell by looking at him that he was lost in his memories again.

"Sonic?" Shari sighed. "Listen, I…I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but…" Sonic eyes flicked in her direction. She didn't notice, staring off into space. "Bad stuff happens…and we'll never really stop grieving for those we lost…but we shouldn't ruin their images either. If the only way we remember our loved ones is through their deaths, then everything they lived for would've been in vain.

"We should…remember them as they were: their laughter, their tears, the lessons they taught. What made them happy? What made them sad? What was their favorite thing to do or to wear? Who were they and what kind of person did they want to be? We shouldn't…spend our whole live grieving for their deaths. We should rejoice, for they have _lived_, and…we've had the pleasure of knowing them."

Silence stretched into minutes as the two sat their, one lost in thought, the other seeming to really see his companion for the first time.

After an eternity, he quietly asked, "Who did you lose?"

She didn't answer for a moment. "Their was a shooting…a couple of students got a hold of some firearms and they went into this school called Columbine. They killed several people and then themselves. My friend and I were only eight at the time.

"Her mom was one of the teachers there, one of the one's that died. Her dad had died earlier that year, so when she lost her mom…she just…stopped. The social security people came to get her and…they found her on the sidewalk. She'd jumped off the roof…She…She was actually the one to tell me all of that, after her dad died. About rejoicing for they have lived. Kind of hypocritical, huh?"

"…I'm sorry," Sonic murmured after a short silence.

Shari shook her head with a weak smile. "Don't be. After all, it's _nothing_ compared to what you went through."

Sonic frowned. "No," he corrected. "There can be no comparison…When you loose someone, anyone, the effect will scar you forever. The amount of loss you experienced doesn't make it any less traumatic." The two were quite for a moment, and then: "Thanks, by the way," Sonic whispered, looking over at her.

Shari smiled, meeting his eyes. "You're welcome."

For a moment, something passed between the two. Perhaps it was a greater depth of understanding, perhaps a bond had started to form. Whatever it was, both unconsciously acknowledged it, accepting it into their lives.

"Anyway," Shari continued, "The last time was when you were rescuing Tayla. Then there was the whole water thing…"

Sonic flinched. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.

Shari shrugged. "S'okay. I understand."

"Oh, by the way, What happened when I was unconscious?" Sonic asked, curious. "Did you get knocked out too or…?"

Shari giggled nervously. "_Actually_, it turns out that only the person in control gets knocked out. I had control of you until you regained consciousness."

Sonic grinned. "Ohhhhh, is _that_ why I feel so sore?"

Shari squirmed under his jeering smirk. "I…I wasn't used to running at those speeds."

"Then you shouldn't of run," he informed her.

"There were robots!" she protested.

"Fight them."

"But that would've made it even _worse_! I can't _fight_!"

"_I_ can," he stated.

"_So_?"

"You were in my body, Shari. You had my speed. You had my strength. You had my reflexes."

"Well…most of them," Shari corrected. "I had the timing on the turns a bit off."

"No kidding," Sonic grumbled playfully, hand over his nose.

"I _said_ sorry!"

"Actually, you didn't," he corrected. "That was for the dream."

"Oh, well, _sorry_ then! There!" Then she frowned. "You're not…still mad at me, you know, about seeing your dreams….are you?"

Sonic shook his head. "No. I never really was mad at you. I was just…I felt…"

"Vulnerable?" Shari suggested.

"Yeah…I guess."

"I won't tell anyone," Shari assured him.

Sonic smiled at her. "I know." She smiled back.

The moment was grandly ruined as Tayla randomly sang. "Soooooooooooo Sleeeeeeeepppppyyyyyyy!" She waltzed over to them and plopped herself in between them. Flopping her head down on Sonic's lap, she gazed up at his amused expression with a dopey grin. "Hi."

"Hi," Sonic replied, chuckling. "You've never really heard of 'personal space', have you?"

"Personal-what-now?"

"…Figures."

"Trya's right," Jasper announced, walking into the room with the rest of the group at her heals.

Tayla sprung of the couch. "It's TAYLA!" she cried, whacking her upside the head. She then calmly returned to her spot on the couch.

Jasper frowned, rubbing her head. "Your friend is right. It's late. We should get going." She sighed heading toward the door with Ashes.

Ashes turned to Tayla. "Come on, uh…Kid."

"I'M NOT A KID!"

_**THAWACK!**_

"_Yeowch!_" Ashes cried, holding his head from her strongest blow yet as Shari nearly fell of the couch with laughter.

"I-*giggle*-I tried-*snort*-to warn you-*snicker*!" she laughed, holding her side as Sonic grinned.

"Seems there was an alternate reason to your constant correcting," he mused. "Actually, I think Tayla should stay here."

"WHAT?" Tails cried, staring at his adoptive brother with a look of pure and absolute betrayal. "_Why_?"

Sonic calmly shrugged. "Eggman's still after her, ain't he? I think it'd be safer if she stayed with us."

Tails scoffed. "Yeah, since these two bozos probably couldn't be trusted with a flicky."

"Hey!" Ashes protested.

"So it's settled then," Sonic confirmed. "She's staying here."

Tails frowned. "No, wait-"

"Yaaaaaay! I get to stay with FLUFFY!" Tayla cheered, randomly pouncing Tails who yelped in protest.

Ashes raised an eyebrow. "I though _I_ was fluffy?" he murmured.

Tayla peered up at him, her arms still securely around Tails' middle. "Ohhhh, don't worry. You're fluffy too. But Tails is FLUFFIER! Hey, I know! I'll can call you fluffier!"

"NO!" Tails protested.

Tayla thought for a moment. "You're right. Fluffier sounds kinda strange. I'll just call you FLUFFY!"

Tails groaned.

Me: What did you think? Good? Weird? Insane? All of the above? XD

Oh, and I thought I should tell you...that touching speach Shari gave was inspired from my grandmother's death over two months ago. She suffered through four boughts with cancer during my lifetime, but she never stopped smiling. She was always cheerful and energetic, even on her death bed. We planted a tree in our backyard in her honor. It is just like she was: Strong, sturdy, and so very full of life, surviving and pushing through whatever life throughs at it. I am going to miss my beloved grandmother dearly, but I know that she's in a better place now. Old age can no longer hold that passionate woman back, not that it ever did! :)

Anywho, please review! Happy Writing! ^_^


	13. Shut Up and Let Me Sleep

**Me:**** Guess What? I found a way to continue writing without spoiling my story, Weakness! So This Isn't Happening is BACK IN GEAR. I mean, it's been, like, TWO YEARS, but I'm sure SOMEONE will appreciate my continuing. Enjoy!**

About an hour later, Tayla had found a toothbrush, painted a smiley face on the mirror with it, rinsed off the mirror, brushed her teeth, borrowed some of Shari's new pajamas, tackled everyone goodnight, and was currently following Shari down the hallway.

"I'll just sleep on the floor," she was saying. "Or maybe the roof. Wouldn't it be cool if we could sleep on the roof and look at the stars? It's no wonder Sonic likes it so much! It's so peaceful…"

Shari raised an eyebrow. "You've slept on the roof before?"

Tayla nodded. "Uh-huh! It was back on my apartment though, so it wasn't really very clean." She frowned. "There was a lot of garbage up there. Still, that didn't stop me from sleeping under the stars! It was mid-summer, so it was nice and warm, but not too warm. It was just…nice." She smiled at the memory. "I even had a dream about it once. I was on top of this _really, really tall _building, looking out over the city. I was so…calm."

"Really?" Shari asked, interested as she opened the door to the stairway. Her friend was never completely calm.

"Yup! Oh! But it was _so _FREAKY! See, there was this cool-voice evil guy and I thought he was going to attack me but he wasn't because he jumped off the building and then I screamed and he, like, freaked, trying to find me only he couldn't cause I was _inside his head_ and then-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Shari stopped in front of Tayla, preventing her from going any further. "What? You were inside his _head_?" Now, Shari was beginning to get suspicious. Was Tayla going inside Sonic's head as well? She felt a twinge of disappointment.

"Yeah!" Tayla nodded enthusiastically. "Isn't that _awesome_! And then he wanted to know who I was and why I was following him only I wasn't following him cause I was inside his head but he still wanted to know only I couldn't show him so I told him to go in front of this window so I could see the reflection and _Ohmigosh_! You'll never _believe_ you it was!"

Shari frowned. "Who?"

In spite of her ramblings, Tayla seemed to notice her friend's sudden mood change. "You okay, Shari?"

Shari nodded, forcing a smile. "I'm fine," she insisted.

Tayla frowned, studying her expression, not quite believing her, but then she went back to her story, unable to withhold the information any longer. "It was _Shadow_!"

They both stared at each other, one with baited excitement, the other with shock.

Tayla. The most hyperactive person Shari knew. Sharing minds with _Shadow_. Shari burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Tayla wondered, peering down at her hysterical friend who'd lowered herself to the stairs.

"N-Nothing!" Shari wheezed, catching her breath. "Nothing. I was just wondering was it would be like if that dream was reality. That's all."

Tayla joined her on the steps, grinning. "Yeah. I'd probably annoy the heck out of him…Hey, what _is_ heck anyhow?"

Shari shrugged. "I haven't the faintest idea."

Tayla's mind changed course again. "Hey, Shari?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you miss home?"

Shari paused, considering. In all of the chaos, she hadn't really dwelled upon it that much. "Yeah…kinda. I guess I _do_ miss it. A lot. I just…don't want to return quite _yet_."

Tayla nodded. "Me neither. I _love it_ here! There so many FLUFFIES!" She squealed. "I can't believe we've actually met real live Sonic characters! I thought they didn't exist!"

Shari panicked, clapping a hand over her friends mouth. "SHHHHH!" she hissed. "Let the whole neighborhood know why don't ya?"

Tayla pried Shari's hand off her mouth. "Okay!" She drew in a great deep breath.

"No, no, _no_!" Shari hissed, shushing her. "You can't tell _anyone_!"

Tayla frowned. "Why not?"

Shari gave her a dead-pan look. "Oh, I'm sure that'd go over well. 'In our world, you guys are just figments of our imagination.' Right."

Tayla sighed. "I kinda see what you mean." Then she frowned again. "Why did the Robo Guy bring us here anyway?"

"The Robo Guy?"

"Robotnic?"

"Oh." Shari sighed. "Think, Tayla. What kind of questions did those robots ask you?"

Tayla scrunched her face up for a moment in thought. Then, an understanding seemed to pass over her, and she suddenly looked very forlorn. "Oh…"

Shari nodded. "Yep."

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

"I…"

"Uh-huh."

"I told them _everything_!"

"Yes, you di- Wait, what?" Shari whirled around to face her friend.

Tayla looked worried. "I-I mean, not _everything_, but…"

Shari frowned. "Tayla, you need to tell me _everything_ you told him."

Tayla nodded meekly. Then she looked up hopefully. "In the morning?" she begged.

Shari sighed. "Alright, in the morning. We're all tired. Come on." Standing up, she reached down to help Tayla to her feet, and together they walked the last few steps.

"You know," Tayla was saying as they opened the tattered blue door. "I really need to get some new clothes. I look ridiculous in these." Shari raised an eyebrow as Tayla frowned down at her blue sweatpants and t-shirt, half-tempted to say this was the most normal she'd ever looked, but she kept quiet. "Where did you get-Oh _wow_!" Tayla breathed, awe lacing her voice as she took in her surroundings. "You live in an _attic_? I've _always wanted_ to live in an attic!"

Shari grinned proudly. "You should've seen it when I first got here! There was dust and cobwebs _everywhere_!"

Tayla cringed. "Were there _spiders_?"

Shari shrugged. "Sure, tons. But don't worry. I got rid of them all."

"Whew, that's good." Tayla smiled. "Ooooooooo! How pretty!" she cried, running up to jump on the plain white, black-framed bed. Shari shook her head. That was one of the things she liked about Tayla. She could find beauty in the oddest things.

"Are you sure you don't want the bed?" She asked.

"Nope!" Tayla replied, hopping down to a spot near the window. "I _like_ the floor! It's wood! I like wood!" Shari rolled her eyes, handing her some of her sheets and a pillow. Tayla wasted no time in making herself comfy, snuggling into her feathered headrest. "I still think a fluffy would be more comfortable, but this'll do," she commented as Shari slipped into her yellow PJ's. "Where did you even get all of these clothes anyway?"

"Amy bought them for me today," Shari replied, climbing into bed. "That was actually when we met the wolf twins."

"Fluffy?" "Yes, fluffy."

"Cool." Tayla sighed. "I guess Amy will have to take me shopping. I've been wearing the same outfit for the past _five_ _days_!"

Shari cringed. "Yuck."

"Yeah. At least they had a bathroom and shower at the prison-type-thing."

"You know, you'd probably drive Amy insane with your style. You wear the craziest things!" Shari laughed, squeaking as a pillow was thrown at her.

Tayla sunk back down, giggling. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, I at least want to get some shirts with witty sayings on them. You know, like that black one that says 'I'll stop wearing black-'"

"-'When they invent a darker color'," Shari finished. "Yeah, I remember. You really like wearing sayings don't you?"

"Yup! They portray who I am."

A long stretch of silence followed as the girls began to drift to sleep.

"Shari?"

Shari groaned. "Yeah?"

"Can I have my pillow back?"

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

_Shari 'woke up' in the kitchen. Sonic seemed to be saying good night to Tails. "Don't stay up to late, okay buddy?"_

"_Yes, Dad." Tails called jokingly from the workshop. "G'night, Sonic."_

"_Night," Sonic called, closing the workshop door. _

_As he sighed, Shari decided to make her presence known. __**'He's gonna fall asleep in front of one of his projects again, isn't he?'**_

_Sonic shrugged. __**'Probably. But hey, what can I do? He's not four years old anymore. He's even got his own house now.'**_

_Shari mentally smiled. __**'You sound like a father.'**_

'_**I should; I practically raised him.'**__ He sighed. __**'You gonna be there all night?'**_

'_**Yep,'**__ Shari replied. _

'_**Any chance of you leaving?'**_

'_**Nope. Not unless I wake up.'**_

_He squared his shoulders. __**'Alrighty then.'**__ And with that, he started heading toward his room._

'_**Actually, I probably won't be asleep the whole night,'**__ Shari said.__** 'Seeing as how I slept half the day away. I should sleep for a good three hours, though.'**_

_Sonic opened the door to his room. __**'That's fine. Just don't-'**_

'_**Get up, move around, listen to your dreams, etc. I know, I know. I wouldn't anyway.'**_

'_**Yeah, I know. I was just…checking.'**_

_Closing the door behind him, Sonic removed his gloves and then his sneakers, placing them neatly by the side of his bed._

'_**What IS it with you and those shoes, anyway?'**__ Shari asked._

_Sonic frowned as he slipped under the covers. __**'What do you mean?'**_

'_**I mean I don't think I've seen anyone so obsessed with their shoes! Uh, no offence.'**_

'_**None taken.'**__ Sonic sighed, placing his hands behind his head. __**'They were…a gift from a very good friend of mine. He designed them so they'd never wear down. They're practically indestructible.'**_

'_**What happened to him?'**_

_Sonic hesitated. __**'It's a long story. Basically, he doesn't know me anymore.'**_

_Shari blanked. __**'What? You've lost me.'**_

'_**Well…' **__Sonic began as his eyes traced patterns on the ceiling. __**'A long time ago, something very bad happened, and the only way to stop it was to go back in time and end it before it began.'**_

'_**You went back in time?'**_

_Sonic nodded.__** 'Yeah. I…The only way to stop this…catastrophe was to keep us from ever meeting. So, basically, we've never technically met.'**_

'_**Wait…,'**__ Shari murmured. __**'If it never happened, then how come you remember it?'**_

_Sonic shrugged. __**'I'm not sure. It's probably cause I was the one to change it all. You know, kinda like being at the eye of the storm. The changes never really effected me…At least not physically.'**__ He sighed. __**'Anyway, I'm gonna need to get SOME sleep tonight, so do you mind?'**_

'_**Oh! Yeah, sure…Shutting up.'**_

'_**Thanks.'**_

_Silence descended. After a few minutes passed, Sonic seemed to forget Shari was there, for she could hear and see his thoughts as his mind began to wonder. Slowly, their thoughts began to mingle and merge, the lines separating their minds beginning to thin. It was rather pleasant, and Shari was content to be a spectator for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, she would have to pull away the moment he fell asleep._

'_**I need a book,'**__ she mumbled._

_Sonic sighed. __**'This is going to be a very long night.'**_

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

_Tayla was having that dream again, the one about watching over the city. Once again, she quietly listened, absorbing all of the sights, sounds, and smells. She could feel the cool night air gently caressing his fur and quills as she gazed through ruby eyes at the planet below. So distant. So insignificant. _

_Internally, Tayla suppressed laughter. It was the same dream. She was SURE of it! And if this was Shadow…_

'_**PI-ZZA!'**__ Tayla shouted. _

_Shadow nearly fell off the building. He spun around, immediately scanning for the source of her random declaration. The source that happened to be inside his own head. Tayla suppressed a creepy giggle, thrilled. This was going to be __**so. Fun.**_

_She stayed quiet as Shadow continued to search. He was too alert now. She'd have to wait until he let his guard down again. Which stunk. She __**hated**__ waiting! Waiting was so __**boring**__! _

_Absently, Tayla wondered if she could control his movements. She __**was**__ in his head after all. Besides, she was __**dreaming**__! That was something she'd dream up, wasn't it? Tayla concentrated, trying to get Shadow to walk two steps forward. He didn't move. Well, at least not forward. Instead, he turned to the side. Huh?_

_Confused, Tayla tried again. Forward! Forward! Shadow turned. No, not __**turn**__! __**Forward**__! Shadow didn't move for a moment, still scanning. Then, he turned back toward the city. _

'_**AARRRRGG! How do you STEER this thing!'**_

_Once again, Shadow jumped and whirled around._

'_**Oops,'**__ Tayla mumbled. Now she had to wait again. Drat. While Shadow calmed down, Tayla focused on steering. What went wrong? Maybe the command was too…difficult? It made sense, she supposed. She would have to start small. To build up brain power like in those Sci-Fi movies. _

_Concentrating, she focused all of her 'brain power' on twitching Shadow's index finger. It didn't move. Annoyed, she tried harder. It still didn't move. Then, something occurred to her. Maybe she had to command it vocally. Or thoughtfully. Or whatever. So, she did._

'_**TWITCH, darn you!'**_

_Again, Shadow jumped. In the process, he happened to move his index finger._

'_**YAYZ!'**__ Tayla cheered._

"_Who's there?" Shadow demanded, his deep voice echoing in the cold night air._

'_**It's ME!' **__Tayla proclaimed. __**'Your imaginary friend!'**_

_Shadow scoffed. __**'Nutcase,'**__ he thought._

'_**Hey!'**__ Tayla protested indignantly. __**'I am NOT a nutcase! I hate nuts! And cherries. Blech!'**_

_Shadow froze, positive he did not say that out loud. Tayla giggled madly, and the sound echoed through their minds. __**'Yeeeessssssss. Be afraid! Be veeeeeeeeerrry afraid!'**_

_The hedgehog frowned, and Tayla felt annoyance replace his surprise. "I fear nothing."_

'_**Pfffft!'**__ Tayla mentally rolled her eyes. __**'Men! Honestly, what IS it with you guys and bravery?'**_

_As she spoke, Shadow was slowly inching his way toward the edge of the building, his eyes on any possible place that her voice could be coming from. Tayla immediately realized what he was doing._

'_**HOLD it!'**__ she commanded. __**'Bad Shadow! No jumping off of tall buildings!'**_

_Shadow froze. __**'She can see me. I don't see any cameras, so she must actually be here somewhere.'**_

'_**Actually, I CAN'T see you. Unless you wave your arm in front of your face. Which would be weird, cause who DOES that? Besides me, of course.'**_

_Shadow stiffened. __**'Impossible.'**_

'_**What's impossible?'**_

_He was quiet for a long time. She could feel his mind working as he thought furiously. __**'Can you hear my thoughts?'**__ he finally demanded._

'_**Correct-o-mundo! Give the man a cookie! Or a cupcake. Or a candy cane. Or a strudel! What IS a strudel anyway?'**_

_Shadow ignored her.__** 'There's only one explanation for mind-reading.'**_

'_**Imaginary friends!'**_

'_**Brain implant.'**_

'_**Brain implant? Brain implant! Dude, you have been reading waaaaay too many comic books. Then again, so have I.'**_

_Shadow took off wordlessly, heading toward the one person who would be capable and willing to help him. 15-year-old-Tails._

**Me:**** I thoroughly enjoyed writing that. Well, what do you think? Reviews inspire me! See that SHIIIIINY blue button down there? Poke it!**

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	14. Shadow's Imaginary Friend

**Me:**** Everyone cheer! I've decided to stop waiting for a week and just update whenever I have something! And you can blame my quick update on my wonderful feedback! Oooooh, I MISSED you guys! Thank you SO much! This has been a BLAST! Enjoy!**

Shari blinked sleepily as the waking world called her back into existence. It was a strange feeling, waking up after being in Sonic's head. Her mind told her she'd never fallen asleep, but her body was heavy and comfortable, as though she'd just woken up.

In some ways, she was starting to miss her mind shutting down. It was nice to take a break from life and just relax. However, another larger part of her really enjoyed sharing minds with her childhood hero, especially after the talk she'd had with him earlier.

A demented giggle interrupted her thoughts, and Shari looked down to see Tayla twitching with glee, a huge smile on her face as she dreamed. Shari grinned. Poor Shadow.

She watched her thrilled friend for a moment longer, then glanced out the window. It had been barely three hours since she'd fallen asleep, and she was sure she'd be suffering from a form of jetlag in the morning, but she just wasn't tired anymore. She'd already gotten plenty of sleep.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do at this late at night, and she didn't want to wake anyone up…Wait a minute. Shari cocked her head, listening. She took it back. It sounded like someone was already awake. At this hour? Shari shrugged absentmindedly. Tails probably just hadn't gotten to sleep yet.

In the meantime, she was getting hungry. It seemed like _ages_ since her last meal. In fact, she hadn't eaten since the Hawaiian pizza Marco had forced Amy to buy for him.

Shari stood up slowly and stretched before taking off down the stairs. She tiptoed down the hallway, past Sonic's door. From what she gathered, rescuing Tayla was like trying to herd children through a candy store. Exhausting. The last thing she wanted to do was wake him up.

As she got closer to the kitchen, Shari was surprised to hear conversation. Tayla and Sonic were both asleep, so who else was here? Did Amy stay late? What time was it anyways?

Shari finally reached the living room door and creaked it open. Oh. Wow. The fan girl inside of her did cartwheels at the sight that greeted her eyes.

Shadow the hedgehog was standing not two feet away from her, scowling with his arms folded. She'd played the video games. She'd watched the shows. She'd read the fan fiction. There was absolutely no comparison.

The first word that came to her mind was creepy. It made sense with his dark ebony fur and the vibrant crimson streaks that ran through it. At first glance, one could easily mistake him as a nightmare come to life. His eyes were positively terrifying. They were twin pools of blood, currently lit up with anger that chilled her to the bone. The golden cuffs on his wrists and ankles were blatant reminders of the tremendous power he possessed, and she suddenly remembered how quick he was to use this power if things didn't go his way.

Of course, this was only her first impression. While his presence was intimidating, to say the least, he seemed to be more annoyed than angry, and Shari immediately guessed his reason. Tayla. He also happened to have those adorable catlike ears atop his head and a fluffy white patch of fur on his chest.

Just like a cat. Her fan girl side squealed and she was suddenly filled with the overwhelming urge to poke him.

Shari closed her eyes and took a deep breath, composing herself before she did something reeeeelly stupid. Then she peeked back in. Tails was sitting back at a stool on the kitchen counter. His slouched posture was so incredibly teenager, but his expression was drawn and serious as he regarded the hedgehog before him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Would I come here if I wasn't?"

From behind the door, Shari took a moment to quell her inner fangirl. Again, there was no comparison. His deep, velvety voice was indescribably wonderful. It was chilling, alluring, and demanded respect. The voice seemed more appropriate coming from a fairytale prince, not a genetic experiment gone wrong.

Tails nodded thoughtfully. "Point taken." He stood and started heading toward the door to his lab. "Come on. At this point, I'm not sure how much I can do. I'm going to need to run some tests first."

Shadow nodded his agreement, and started to follow. Curious, Shari chose this time to make herself known. She stepped fully into the room and made her way toward the kitchen. "Hey, Tails!" she called.

The aforementioned fox paused and poked his head back through the doorway, forcing an aggravated Shadow to back up a step. "Shari?" he asked, surprised. "What are you doing up so late."

Shari opened the fridge as she felt Shadow's fiery gaze fall upon her, sizing her up. "I'm starving," she admitted. "Totally missed dinner. What's going on?" she asked, finally looking at Shadow with an eyebrow raised, pretending she wasn't totally nervous under his scrutinizing gaze. "Who is this?" Of course, she already knew, but she wasn't supposed to, so she figured it was safer to let the fox tell her now instead accidentally calling him by name later on.

"Oh!" Tails seemed to suddenly remember his manners. "Right. Shari, this is Shadow. Shadow, this is Shari. She's staying with us for a few days until we can get her home."

Shadow was still staring at her. "She's a human," he observed.

Shari's annoyance won over her fear. "No, I'm a chimpanzee," she retorted sarcastically. "Seriously, what is _with_ it with you guys? Everyone one I meet! Human this and human that. What, have you never seen a human before?" Shadow's eyes flared slightly, and Shari suddenly remembered who she was talking to. Oh yeah. The last human he knew was Maria. Woops. She really needed to start thinking before she ranted.

Tails spoke quickly, trying to dissipate the sudden tension in the atmosphere. "To answer your question, we think someone implanted something in Shadow's head."

Shari's eyes widened. "Seriously? Why?"

"Someone's been reading his mind."

Tayla, Shari thought immediately. Oh, _shoot_. What now? She panicked slightly as Tails and Shadow began to disappear into the workshop. She had no idea what kind of tests Tails planned on running. What if he accidentally hurt Tayla?

"Wait, hold it!" she cried. Her mind went blank as Shadow glared back at her, annoyed at the interruption. What was she supposed to say? "It's not an implant," she blurted.

Shadow's eyes narrowed all the more. Now he looked plain ferocious. "Do you know something about this?" he demanded.

From the garage, Tails poked his head out, looking incredulous. "Then what is it?" he asked.

Shari took a deep, calming breath, disaster momentarily averted. "It is a very long story." She swallowed as Tails walked back into the living room, looking suspicious. She was going to need some backup with this one. "'Scuse me a sec," she mumbled, and turned to retreat into the hallway, intent on finding Sonic.

"Hold it," Shadow ordered her.

Shari froze and shivered as his eyes bore into her back. "Hmmmm?"

"My intruder seems to recognize you."

The sentence was completely accusing and demanded an explanation. Shari turned around and tried to look innocent. "Why don't you tell Tails the name of your intruder?" she suggested.

Shadow's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Tails was no longer looking at her. He peered at the dark hedgehog inquisitively. Shadow's eyes flickered in the foxed direction. "She claims her name is Tyla." His eyes immediately clenched shut at the lecture Tayla was undoubtedly giving him. Meanwhile, Tails eyes had widened considerably.

Shari used the momentary distraction to escape further inquiries. She took off down the hall and pounded on Sonic's door. "Sonic! Requesting backup! Wakey, wakey!"

She heard a groan from the other side of the door. "…Shari?"

"Up!" Shari demanded.

"…Why? It's.." He yawned. "Late. Look, just 'cause _you_ don't need any sleep.."

"Sonic, they know."

"..Wha..?"

"Tails. And Shadow. I'm being tried for treason out here."

"Wait…_Shadow_? Why…" Another yawn. "..What…?"

"Would you just get out here?"

"Ermph..," Sonic mumbled incoherently, and Shari heard a thump as he fell out of bed. "Ow."

"You're really not a morning person, are you?"

Sonic groaned. "Define 'morning'," he mumbled grumpily. "…Where are…shoes…?"

"They're right by your bed," Shari told him, growing impatient. "Where you neatly placed them three hours ago. Seriously, Sonic?"

There was some more incoherent mumbling and another thunk as the sleepy hedgehog fell into the wall. Finally, the door opened.

"Oh my," Shari giggled at his appearance. "You look like a homeless man."

"It's two in the mornin'," Sonic pointed out moodily as Shari carefully ran her fingers through his rumpled quills in an attempt to make him look presentable. "Everyone looks homeless at two in the mornin'."

"Not Shadow."

"Shadow's flippin' nocturnal," Sonic grumbled. "Doesn't sleep. What's he doin' here anyway? 'Specially at this ungodly hour."

"Scowling at me," Shari complained, straitening his lopsided ear. "If he does it again I'm going to go into cardiac arrest. Or try to kill him. I'm not sure which is safer."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

_Tayla was giddy with excitement. This was the coolest dream __**ever**__! She'd seen Tails and even __**Shari**__! It was just like it was real! Shadow even called her Tyla. _

'_**Seriously, what's WRONG with you people? Tayla! Tay. La. It's NOT that hard!'**_

'_**Alright, already!'**__ Shadow thundered, beyond peeved. This girl had been chattering nonstop in his head since he got here. When she wasn't singing the Itsy-Bitsy Spider, she was rambling about windows and ceiling paint and 'fluffies'. Shadow could barely hear himself think._

_Tayla tutted reproachfully. __**'So rude! And rude to Shari too! Don't be a meanie, Shadsy.'**_

_Shadow groaned, pinching his eyebrows. Tails looked over at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"_

"_No," he growled. "If I have to spend one more minute with this little heathen, I'll-"_

'_**Hey! Bad Shadow! No calling bad names!'**_

'_**Shut up.'**_

'_**Nuh-uh-uh. That's mean too. No more being mean or I'll set my man-eating poodlezilla on you. She's evil.'**_

'_**So am I.'**_

'_**Nuh-uh! Not like my dog. She eats tables. And sand. That is just weird.'**_

_Shadow grit his teeth. This girl was chipping away at his sanity. __**'I'm not weird.'**_

'_**Oh yeah? How do YOU know? Weirdness is a matter of opinion.'**_

'_**In your opinion.'**_

'_**People say I'm weird. It's a compliment! Cause weird people are interesting!'**_

'_**Fascinating.'**_

_Tails sighed. "Well, if that's Tanya, it makes perfect sense."_

'_**TAYLA! It's TAYLA! Come ON, people! GIMME A BREAK! Oooooo! Look! They have mushrooms! Eat one!**_

_It took a moment for Shadow to realize she was suddenly talking to him. __**'What? No!'**_

'_**What, you don't like mushrooms?'**_

_Shadow frowned. __**'I hate them.'**_

'_**BLASPHEMY! I LOVE mushrooms! And onions! And cheese-its! You haven't LIVED till you've had cheese-its! Shari only eats white-cheddar ones. Cheese-it racism, I tell you.'**_

_Thankfully, Shari returned before Shadow was forced to debate cheese-it racism. She towed a sleepy Sonic behind her. He looked none too happy, but was slowly growing more alert, especially since seeing Shadow. The two rivals locked eyes and, after a moment, gave a respectful nod._

'_**Oh! HI SONIC! He's my friend. Say 'hi' Shadsy.'**_

_Shadow ignored her, knowing full well Sonic wouldn't be up without reason._

"_Well?" Sonic demanded, sounding cheerful and looking the opposite. "What'cha doin' here, Shads?"_

_Shadow narrowed his eyes at the nickname, but said nothing, letting others speak for him. _

_Shari folded her arms, looking much more sure of herself beside the hero. "He says someone's reading his mind. Thinks it's an implant or something." Sonic's eyes widened as she continued. "Tails was going to run some tests, but I wasn't sure what effect they would have."_

_Meanwhile, the intruder was miraculously quiet. A miracle. _

"_But, Shari," Sonic protested, "How do you know? You're kind of an anomaly. We can't just start assuming that every-"_

"_I know, I know," Shari interrupted. "But Tayla described a rather interesting dream to me last night…"_

_Sonic raised an eyebrow. "__**No.**__ You mean Tayla…?"_

_For the first time since meeting her, Shari grinned. She nodded. _

_Sonic bit his lip, trying to hold back an obvious smile. "What did she say?"_

_Shari shrugged. "Basically? She was inside the head of a 'cool-voiced evil guy'."_

_Sonic snorted, unable to help himself. His shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. "Oh, __**gosh**__. Tayla? And __**Shadow**__?" He grinned at Shadow. "I pity you, Shads."_

_Tails frowned and crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "Would one of you mind telling me what the __**heck**__ is going on?"_

_Shari and Sonic looked at each other. "Oh, no you don't!" Shari stated, backing towards the door. "__**You**__ tell them! I'm done with death-eyes here." She pointed to Shadow who raised an eyebrow. _

'_**Death-eyes?'**_

'_**Yeah!'**__ the girl suddenly piped up. __**'Cause you keep glaring at her!'**_

'_**If she has anything to do with my recent conversations with you, she deserves it.'**_

"_I'm going to wake up Tayla," Shari continued. "And put Shadow out of his misery."_

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Tayla!" Shari called as she thundered up the stairs. "Wake up!"

She hear her friend groan. "Wazzah?"

Shari opened the door to see Tayla propped on her elbows, her eyes half-lidded. "Get up, Tayla," she ordered, reaching down to help her up. "I've got something to show you."

Tayla's bright green eyes were already clearing. "Shari! Oh, you'll never _believe_ the dream I just had! You were in it!"

"I know," Shari admitted absentmindedly, dragging Tayla toward the door, not wanting to miss anything. "It wasn't a dream, Tayla. It was real."

Her friend looked at her strangely. "Real? Nu-uh! It was while I was sleeping and it was a dream. A weird dream with sand-eating poodlezilla and cheese-it racism and mushroom blasphemy."

Shari grinned. "I wish I could've heard _that_ conversation. But seriously, it's real. The same thing happens to me. You fall asleep in this body and wake up in someone else's"

Tayla frowned, studying Shari's expression. She was serious. Tayla gasped. "Oh, _wow_! _Really_!" she cried, proving that she either trusted her friend completely or that she was incredibly stupid. "That is _so freaking __**awesome**_! Hey, who do _you_ wake up in?"

Shari grinned. "Sonic."

"_**Seriously!**_"

Her friends enthusiasm was contagious. "I _know_! Isn't this _amazing_!"

Tayla let out an almighty squeal, then froze rigidly. "….Shadow's here. In this house. The _real_ Shadow." She took off down the stairs, nearly vaulting off the wall in her haste. Shari scrambled after her. She would _not_ be missing this.

**Me:** **Shadow may have been, and might be, a tad OOC, but give the guy a break. Anyone acts differently after spending three hours with Tayla.**

**Reviews inspire me! So go poke the shiny blue button!**

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	15. Explanations

**Me:**** I had fun with this one. Enjoy!**

Shari reached the living room to see Tayla frozen in the doorway. She was staring at Shadow with a look of pure and absolute shock. It was probably the same look Sonic had described of when Tayla first saw him.

Shadow's cold, intimidating eyes scrutinized the teen staring at him. They flicked from her to a grinning Sonic and Shari, to a retreating Tails, and back. He looked slightly confused. Especially when Sonic and Shari both started backing away.

Then, Tayla grinned. "Hi Shadsy." Shadow's expression was indescribable, but Shari was sure he'd gone slightly pale. "You're fluffy. I like fluffy."

Looking back, she remembered that probably the scariest thing about Tayla was how calm she was. Knowing her friend, this meant she was about to explode. However, Shadow was fast. Tayla would be humiliated when he nimbly dodged her grasp and left her lying flat on the floor.

Shari grinned. She could fix that. "Hey, Shadow!" she called from the side of the room. His blood red eyes flicked in her direction for a split second.

A second was all it took.

"FLUUUUUUUUFFFFYYYYYYYYYY!"

After that second, it didn't matter how fast Shadow was. The next thing anyone knew, the world's most terrifying anthro was flat on his back, looking very undignified as a teenage girl hugged him firmly around the middle, her face buried in his white chest fur.

Shari and Sonic were leaning against each other with unrestrained laughter as Tayla squealed. "Ooooooohhmigosh! You're the fluffiest fluffy EVER! Ooooohohohoho, you're so flluuuuuuuffyyyyy!"

"Get off of me!" Shadow snarled.

Tayla pouted at him. "No. _You_ were a big meanie. _You_ need to ask _nicely_."

Sonic made a strange squeaking noise in Shari's shoulder as they both laughed. It was just too much.

The Ultimate Life Form was humiliated. He'd had quite enough of this little heathen. "GET OFF OF ME!" he roared, tearing her arms apart and shoving her away.

Tayla's face twisted in pain as she rubbed her arms. "…Ow."

When Shari saw the bruises starting to form, an inhuman boldness completely drowned whatever fear she might've had. As Shadow picked himself off the floor, Shari rammed into him, grabbing fistfuls of his fluffy chest and slamming him into the wall with Titan strength.

"If you hurt my friend again," she snarled, "I. Hurt. You." She meant it too.

Shadow was too shocked that a skinny little girl had just shoved him against the wall to respond. This protected him until Sonic was there to place a hand on the seething teen's shoulder. "Shari…" His tone was warning.

Shari ignored him, her deep brown eyes drilling into the eyes of the hedgehog before her. "I'm _serious_, Shadow. Don't hurt my friend. She's had enough pain in her life. Never again, you hear me? _Never._"

Tayla's arms suddenly wrapped around her middle. "It's okay, Shari," she chirped. "I'm fine! Please don't be angry. I'm okay! "

Shari stared at Shadow a moment longer, then finally let go. Sonic gently tugged her away from him. She forced herself to calm down as Tayla scolded the surprised ebony hedgehog. She glanced at Sonic, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry."

He grinned, surprising her. "It's fine. I would of done the same, but the look on his face was _priceless_. I wish I had a camera."

Shari looked back at Tayla. She had her hands on her hips and was shaking her finger at a very annoyed Shadow. "You think he'll listen?" she wondered.

"He'd better," Sonic declared, looking serious. "I don't tolerate anyone hurting kids."

"I'm not a kid!"

Meanwhile, it seemed Shadow had managed to pull himself together.

"Say sorry!" Tayla was demanding.

Shadow crossed his arms. "I don't apologize."

Tayla pouted. "You're a _meanie_." Then she grinned. "And fluffy." She giggled, then gasped and turned to Sonic. "Oh! Shari says she's been in your head! Is it true? Is it?"

Sonic chuckled and nodded.

Tayla squealed and relatched onto the ebony hedgehog near her. "And I'm in _Shadow's_! Oh, this is _so cool_!"

Shadow closed his eyes and counted to ten. It didn't help. "Let go."

"Okay!" Tayla chirped and jumped back, beaming. "You're fluffy!"

"Fascinating."

Tails was still trying to process everything. "Let me get this strait. You two." He pointed at Tayla and Shari. "When you fall asleep, you wake up sharing minds with one of you?" He pointed to Sonic and Shadow. "How is that possible?"

Sonic shrugged. "You got me."

"Hey, we were both teleported here by the Robo guy," Tayla offered, plopping down on the couch. "Maybe there's a connection or something."

Tails blanked. "…'The Robo Guy'?"

"Robotnic," Shari translated.

"Oh. Yeah, you're probably right. But why Sonic and Shadow? What's the connection there? They're not the first people you guys came into contact with or anything…Shari, when did you first merge with Sonic?"

Shari raised an eyebrow. Or tried to anyway. 'Merge'. Interesting term. "It was when I first came here," she answered. "So it must've happened during the teleportation. Or whatever that was."

Tails nodded, thinking. "Do you suppose it was on purpose?"

Shari had an idea, but saying it would reveal the reason they were brought to this world. Fanfiction. That would take a lot of explaining.

Luckily, Tayla seemed to catch on. "When the Robo guy kidnapped me, he kept asking me questions about, uh, you guys. Maybe the merge-y thing was supposed to make us, like, spies or something."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "I was under the impression the doctor would leave me be. It appears I was mistaken."

Tayla perked up. "The doctor? Which doctor? Mat Smith? Oh, or David Tennent! He's my favorite. But he's not ginger. I can't _wait_ until he's ginger. He's wanted to be ginger for four seasons now. Or five." She looked around at the blank looks she was getting. "What? It's my favorite show!"

"It's Doctor _Eggman_, Tayla," Shari corrected.

"Ohhhhh. _That_ doctor." She frowned. "He's fat. And ugly."

"Agreed."

"So," Sonic summed, "Egghead's kidnapping kids to help find out weaknesses? So not cool." He frowned. "Hold on. Shari, when I was going to rescue Tyla, you told me I was heading towards 'certain disaster'. And then we got trapped in that water-maze. Did you know about this before?"

Shari shifted nervously, carefully choosing her words. "Tayla, not Tyla…And I suspected it."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "You seemed pretty certain to me. _And_ you seemed to recognize the shield. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Everyone's eyes were on her now, even Tayla's who was trying really hard to think up an excuse. Shari thought carefully. "Yeah, actually. Someone from my world wrote about a shield like that."

"You felt guilty."

Shari swallowed. How was she supposed to get around this one?

"Leave her alone!" Tayla cried suddenly. "This is _Shari _were talking about! If there's something she doesn't want to say, then she's gotta good reason for it. Besides, _she's_ the one who figured out you were in danger in the _first _place. From what you're saying, she even fell asleep so she could warn you. None of this is her fault, and even if it was, it couldn't possibly be intentional! So get off her case already!" Tayla humphed and folded her arms.

Shari grinned at her. She wasn't the only one who was protective.

Sonic scrutinized her for a moment longer. Then he nodded. "Okay. Fine."

Shadow glared at him. "That's it? Just like that?"

Sonic nodded. "I trust Shari." And that was that.

Shari smiled at him as a warm feeling blossomed inside her. "Thanks."

Sonic winked at her.

Tails glanced back and forth between the two, then sighed. "Okay, then. Let's say for a moment that Eggman kidnapped two teenagers-from another dimension, I might add-and put them in the minds of Sonic and Shadow to figure out your greatest weaknesses."

"That doesn't seem likely," Shadow pointed out.

"No, not at all. But let's just say it is for a moment, okay? If all that is true, then will there be others?"

Shari cocked her head. "Other what?"

"Other people," Tails clarified. "Like you."

Tayla nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, probably. Sonic and Shadsy aren't the only peoples who Egghead could be after. There's also Amy and you and…" She stopped. She wasn't supposed to know about anyone else. Across the room, Shari breathed a sigh of relief.

Sonic caught on. "Knuckles and Rouge. Actually pretty much everyone who's ever helped us could randomly end up having some kid in their head. And _any_ of these kids could've been taken by Eggman already."

Tails frowned. "Well _I_ sure don't have a kid in my head. I think I'd know."

"There's also the fact that Tayla and I know each other," Shari pointed out. That _can't _be a coincidence."

"Actually, it might," Tails murmured, mentally doing some calculations. "How far apart did you two live?"

"Across the street!" Tayla chirped. "Shari used to come over all the time! Once, we dyed poodlezilla's skin."

"Skin?"

"She's furless. Mostly, anyway."

Tails looked to Shari who nodded. "It's true."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "'Poodlezilla'?"

Shadow nodded. "Ah, yes. The sand-eating dog."

"And tables," Tayla added. "And wigs."

"Toupee's actually," Shari corrected. "She hasn't gotten a hold of a wig quite yet."

Tails stared at the two teens for a moment before shaking his head. "Right. So. You two basically live pretty close together. What I'm thinking is maybe Egghead's machine can only take people within a certain radius. In fact, if my calculations are correct, you two were probably the closest to this machine."

"But why did it effect my _computer_?" Shari wondered.

Tayla nodded. "Yeah. Mine too!"

Tails frowned. "I'm not sure. I'll need to think about it. Maybe…" He stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"The point is," Sonic continued. "Other kids are sure to follow. We need to shut this thing down before he has a chance to abduct anyone else."

"Actually, I'm surprised one of us didn't end up in Tails' head already." Tayla commented. "He's pretty darn smart."

The teenage fox swelled. "Thanks."

"But not as smart as Shari," she continued, oblivious. "She's the smartest person in the world."

Tails frowned. "Right…"

Shari shook her head and waved her hands in front of her, embarrassed. "No, no, no. I'm not that smart, _really_."

Tayla nodded. "Uh-huh, yes you are! Weren't you the one that made all those robots sleep?"

Tails shook his head. "No way. That's impossible. _I _can't even hack into Eggman's system."

Shari shifted uncomfortably. "Actually…"

Tails stared. "That wasn't you?"

"It was," Sonic confirmed. "She was the person I was talking about."

There were a few minutes of uncomfortable silence before Tails suddenly disappeared into his workshop. He returned seconds later with his laptop. "Hack into _this_," he challenged.

Tayla groaned. "_Honestly_, men and their egos."

Shari hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. Other than Eggman's system, this is probably the most secure piece of equipment on the planet."

Shari frowned. Well, fine then. She'd show him. In an instant her fingers were flying across the keyboard as her eyes flitted back and forth, absorbing the messages that began appearing on the screen.

Sonic groaned. "Do we have to do this _now_? It's two in the morning." He glanced at the clock. "Two-thirty actually. I want to go back to sleep."

Tails eyes were determined. "Yes, now."

"I have more important matters to attend to," Shadow insisted. "I would rather we resolve this quickly."

"It's not like you've got anything better to do," Tayla pointed out. "Except stargaze, which is actually really fun." She cocked her head. "You don't sleep, remember?"

Shadow glared at her. "Perhaps not, but I am eager to get out of this room and away from you."

Tayla pouted. "That's not very nice. Besides, I'm going back to sleep after this is all over."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"You don't, actually. Hey, wanna watch a movie?" She turned to Sonic. "Do you guys have cable? Shadsy would love Doctor Who! It's a British show."

Shari's fingers suddenly froze. She raised her eyebrows. "Uh, Tails? Cream's accepted your invitation to-"

Tails tore the computer out of her fingers. "What? How did you _do_ that?"

Shari shrugged. "I know computers."

Sonic groaned. "I'm going back to sleep," he announced. "Shari, if you wake me up-"

"I won't," she promised, grinning. "In fact, I think I'm going to try and sleep too. Let's figure the rest out tomorrow, alright Tails?"

The teen fox nodded absentmindedly, still absorbed in his hacked computer.

"Good. Shadow? What about you?"

The dark hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "I have a teenage girl who can read my mind. I'm not leaving until that is no longer possible."

"Fine," Sonic waved him off, not really caring. "Just be quiet, will ya?"

Tayla yawned. "M'sleepy…" Shadow eyed her warily.

Shari sighed. "You can't keep her awake forever, Shadow."

"I can try."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself. Tayla?"

Tayla giggled. "The sky is _reeeeally_ clear out here, _much_ better than in the city!" She grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the door. "Come on! I'll show you!"

Shadow yanked his hand away. "No thanks."

"Okay, then I'm going to bed."

Shadow growled. "Fine. I'll watch the stupid stars with you."

"Yayz!"

Shari grinned. Tayla was so annoying, she could blackmail Shadow the Hedgehog. That was a good one. She'd have to remember that. "Good night, Tayla!"

"G'night! Sleep tight! Don't let the killer rat-dog bite!"

**Me:**** I am becoming increasingly attached to the dreaded poodlezilla. I'm currently looking in to a way to bring her into the story. *evil giggle* **

**About the multiple Doctor Who references: *ahem* I apologize to those who have no idea what I'm talking about. To those who do, WHY IS HE NEVER GINGER! SERIOUSLY! *cough* Right.**

**You will find the button of awesomeness at the end of this ridiculously long arrow.**

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	16. Stargazing

**Me:**** 100 REEEEEEVIIEEEEEEWSSSS! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *dances around room***

"-And he started _screaming_ and he ran _so_ _fast_! Poodlezilla had already finished eating her leash by then, so she starts _chasing_ him! They both disappeared around the side of a building, and a few minutes later, poodlezilla starts tearing down the sidewalk with the guys toupee!"

Shadow frowned, moving his eyes from the stars to the giggling teenager beside him. "She killed him?"

"_No_! Poodlezilla doesn't eat meat. Or vegetables. Or fruit. She's rather fond of azaleas, though. And tires. Besides, we know he was okay because he chased her around the park for the next six hours or so. His head was so _shiny_! After that, we never let poodlezilla outside." Tayla giggled again.

She and Shadow were currently on the roof of Tails' house, Tayla on her back while Shadow leaned against his elbows.

The dark hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know humans had that much stamina," he commented dryly.

"Oh, they _don't_," Tayla corrected. "Poodlezilla gave him lots of breaks. It only took him an hour to get his hair back the first time. The second time, it took him a half hour, and the third, it took him three, and then they just chased each other back and forth for the next half hour."

There was a pause as Shadow added it up. "That's only five hours."

"Yup!"

"You said six."

"Oh, the other hour was Greg and the dog-catcher."

"Greg?"

"My foster dad. He hates me."

The last statement drew Shadow's attention. It didn't seem to fit her tone. She had said it so matter-of-factly. "Really." He returned his gaze to the stars. "How do you know?" "'Cause he says so."

For a moment, silence stretched between them. The quiet was strangely peaceful. Tayla had been right about one thing; the stars out here were _much_ clearer then those in the city. The vastness of the universe seemed to be displayed out before them, shining in all of its glory and wonder.

"My mom and I used to watch the stars all the time, back home. We used to search the skies, trying to find constellations that weren't on the star chart. See?" She stretched her arm, pointing at a small cluster of stars. "That's the cupcake constellation, because it looks like a bunch of cupcakes. And that right there, that's the werebunny constellation. Those three stars right there are it's fangs. See? And _that's_ the Dalex constellation! They're evil." Tayla paused to glance over at the dark hedgehog beside her. He was laying back with his eyes closed, looking completely calm. "You watch the stars all the time, right?" She clarified. "Have _you_ ever found any?"

Shadow opened one eye. "No," he admitted, glancing at her. "I've never watched the stars for that reason."

Tayla gasped, as though the thought of it was horrifying. "You've _never_ looked for constellations? Then why do you even watch the stars at all?"

"Why are you watching them right now?" Shadow countered. "We've been our here for three hours, and you only _just_ mentioned constellations."

For the first time, Tayla looked self-conscious. She bit her lip. "Well…I just wanted to watch the stars with you, is all…," she mumbled.

Shadow rolled his eyes impatiently. "Yes, but _why_?"

Tayla suddenly pointed upwards. "And _that_ one is the tulip constellation."

Honestly, Shadow could've cared less why she wanted to see the stars, but her avoidance of telling him was rousing his curiosity. "You're changing the subject."

"And _that_ one-"

"Tayla."

The girl paused in mid-point, her arm hovering in the air as a strange, almost startled look crossed her features. "Say that again."

Shadow narrowed his eyes, confused. "What?"

"Say my name again."

"Why?"

"Please."

The dark hedgehog stared at the teenager before him, who staring at the stars with her arms crossed, her expression eerily calm. He sighed. "Tayla."

A slow smile crossed her features, and she turned to grin at him. She giggled.

Shadow frowned. "I fail to see the significance."

Tayla tilted her head. "Of course it's significant, silly." Her smile grew. "It was the first time you ever called me by name…"

The girl was insane. It was the only explanation the hedgehog could come up with. She was random, clueless, and the sound of her own name seemed to thrill her. "Your friend calls you by name all the time."

"Yeah, but it's different when you say it."

"How so?"

"Well…" Again, Tayla seemed self-conscious. "I like the sound of your voice."

Shadow stared at her, unsure of how to react, or if a reaction was even required. He wasn't used to someone complimenting him.

…Wait a minute. "You've changed the subject again," Shadow pointed out, frowning. "Why were you so adamant on watching the stars with me?" Again, he didn't care, but he wasn't about to let her outwit him either.

Tayla bit her lip. Truth be told, she was ecstatic just being _near_ him, not to mention the fact that his glossy, ebony fur looked absolutely _majestic _in the starlight. His deep, velvety voice was soothing, comfortable. Next to him, she felt completely at home. What was she supposed to say? I've been dreaming about this since I was two? Not even if you paid her.

"Tayla," Shadow prompted, getting irritated.

Again, Tayla shivered as her name rolled smoothly off his tongue. "Um…Well…" Tayla paused, trying to piece together an answer that wouldn't disturb him. "Because I wanted to spend time with you," she admitted, "And you already watch the stars all the time, so I figured you wouldn't be totally bored, and…yeah." There. That sounded innocent enough, right?

Shadow seemed to think so. "Hmph." As he turned back to the stars, Tayla suppressed a yawn. She felt sleep tugging at her body, trying to make it sink into the roof. It was what, five in the morning? Even she didn't have that much stamina. It didn't help that she was just so _comfortable._ The night air was cool, but not cold, and there was a slight breeze that rustled the leaves of the nearby trees. The sound was quiet and soothing, like listening to rain patter rhythmically on your roof.

But Shadow didn't want her to fall asleep. That thought alone kept her awake. She had to keep talking. "So why do _you_ watch the stars?"

Her companion ignored her, staring up at the vast expanse of sky above them. Honestly, it was none of her business. Shadow was normally aloof and reserved. Information about himself was never given unless absolutely necessary.

_Unfortunately_, Shadow thought, eyeing the yawning Tayla wearily, _It seems that it will soon __**become**__ necessary._ The teen was barely holding on to consciousness. Anyone could see that. If Shadow didn't talk about _something_, she was going to go back inside his head, which meant personal information would no longer be confidential.

Shadow sighed, and began considering her question. Why did he watch the stars? It was difficult to explain, especially since he was so unaccustomed to explaining his actions.

"I watch the stars…to help me think."

Tayla wrenched her eyes open and forced herself to acknowledge the hedgehog beside her. He seemed to be struggling, frowning as his eyes narrowed in concentration. "Really?" Tayla murmured. Actually, it made sense. In all of the scenes she remembered where he watched the stars, he was in the midst of a deep, personal battle, and needed to think things through. "Why do the stars help you think?" she wondered, rolling to her side to give him her full attention.

That was a tricky one. For once, words seemed to elude him. "I'm not sure," he finally admitted. "Perhaps…It is the time of day. The world has gone quiet, and there is temporary peace. Then there's the darkness…it's almost…comforting. The stars themselves…Well, they're always there, hanging in the sky. Usually, the sun blocks their light, but when the world falls into darkness, they're still there. They're constant. They shift, move, and flow, but they always reset themselves, a never-ending journey back to where they began. I suppose…in a way, that…comforts me. Throughout all the chaos, the stars are steadfast, never changing. No matter how difficult things get, everything always…resets itself, returns to normal. When I want to think, to truly ponder life's mysteries, I watch the stars, and…"

Shadow paused, suddenly aware of Tayla's eyes on him. He'd been so caught up in trying to explain something he'd never quite understood himself, that he'd entirely forgotten who he was talking to.

As the dark hedgehog went quiet, frowning again, Tayla smiled in understanding. "They mean a lot to you, huh?"

Shadow said nothing. He'd said too much already.

The girl sighed and scooted closer to him, practically touching him as she stared up at the sky. "My mother used to find meaning in the stars too. There are a lot of lessons to be taught from them. Usually, their vastness and power…it makes my problems seem so small and insignificant, and like you said, everything always resets. It always turns out alright in the end, even if it's not for a little while."

As she spoke, a comet streaked past the sky. Tayla smiled dreamily. "My mother once told me that shooting stars represent our lives. They're only there for a second, so brief in the forever that is time, but they burn so brightly that they're impossible to miss…" She paused. "I want my life to be like that," she admitted. "My time here is short, so I'm going to make the best of it and shine for all I'm worth, so that people will look back and remember all of the good I'd brought into their lives." She grinned. "I want to make people smile."

Tayla yawned again, then turned on her side, facing Shadow. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she sighed deeply, her breath gently stirring his white patch of fur. She was drifting; he could tell, but she seemed so incredibly exhausted that he couldn't bring himself to wake her. A few seconds later, she had snuggled into his shoulder, completely invading his personal space, and fallen fast asleep.

Great. He'd said all that for nothing.

'_Well, it's not __**my**__ fault!'_ Tayla immediately protested from inside his head. _'Your fur is like a kitty's. It's so __**comfy**__!'_

Shadow frowned. _'I'm a __**hedgehog**__, not a feline.'_

'_Maybe on __**this **__world. On __**my**__ world, snuggling a hedgie will give you a face-full of quills. No, you're more like a comfy kitty. I know 'cause we used to have a cat named Noodles__and I usually used her as a pillow.'_

Shadow raised an eyebrow. _'Wouldn't she get eaten by poodlezilla?'_

'_No,'_ Tayla replied, and Shadow felt a sudden heaviness settle on his shoulders. _'The pound took her when Mommy and Sophie died.'_

Shadow blinked. Oh. Her mother had died. Again, her statement was so matter-of-fact. Her tone didn't seem to match the words she spoke.

'_Satellite!'_ Tayla suddenly called. _'That make three for me and zero for you. __**And**__ I saw that shooting star.'_

Shadow frowned. _'We both saw the comet, and I've seen several satellites in the time we've been here.'_

'_Really? How many?'_

'_Four.'_

'_Nuh-uh! You just made that number up on the spot.'_

Shadow's eyes narrowed. _'I'd appreciate it if you left my thoughts alone.'_

Tayla mentally grinned. _'Actually, I didn't really read your mind. But your answer told me enough….Hey! No swearing!'_

'_You know, the point of mentally swearing is that nobody can hear you.'_

'_Well, just think of me as a lesson in self-control. Lord knows you need one.'_

'_How considerate of you.'_

'_Your welcome! Oh, I saw another one!. That make __**two**__ shooting stars!'_

'_Really? I've seen three.'_

'_And another satellite!'_

'_There are currently no satellites within eyesight.'_

'_Yes there are! See? It's right there.'_

Shadow raised an eyebrow. _'You do know that I have no way of knowing where 'there' is?'_

'_It's next to the Dalex's sucky thing.'_

'…'

'_Look, you see the trashcan with the eyestalk? It's next to the plunger.'_

'…'

'_Hello? Is anybody home?'_

'_I have just deemed this conversation as hazardous and have no wish to continue it.'_

Tayla mentally sighed. _'Anyway, that makes four satellites for me and two shooting stars. I'm winning!'_

'_No, you're not. I've seen three satellites and four shooting stars.'_

'_You said three shooting stars!'_

'_I've just seen another.'_

'_Satellite! It's the one next to the Werebunny constellation! The little star between the two big glowy ones.'_

Shadow frowned. _'That's not a satellite.'_

'_Yes it is!'_

'_No, it's not. That star is stationary.'_

'_Nuh-uh! It's __**moving**__! See? Watch.'_

They watched. _'…Oh.'_

'_See? I was right.'_

'_Good for you.'_

'_And it's moving pretty fast too. Look, it's almost to the handle of the Little Dipper.'_

'_Your mother finds the strangest constellations.'_

'_Actually, mommy didn't find that one. It's on the star charts.'_

'_You mean to tell me that, in your world, there is an official constellation named 'The Little Dipper'?'_

Tayla giggled. _'Actually, now that you mention it, that_ _**does**__ sound pretty strange.'_

Shadow nodded. _'Here, our constellations are representations of great people of the past.'_

'_Really? What exactly would someone have to do to be great enough to be up there?'_

There was a pause as Shadow thought it over. _'It would be anyone who…benefited the lives of others. They would have to be brave, I suppose, and well known for saving countless lives. Most of them are those who sacrificed themselves to save others, who set an example for the rest of the world to follow.'_

'_Ooooo…They sound pretty awesome.'_

'_Hmm.'_

Silence.

'_So,'_ Tayla continued, _'Where are you then?'_

Shadow raised an eyebrow. _'I'm right here.'_

'_No, silly. I meant up there. Which constellation is yours?'_

It took a moment for Shadow to realize what she was talking about. When it finally processed, he didn't know how to react. She'd just complimented him again. _'You…You are mistaken. I am not worthy of such an honor.'_

Tayla gasped. _'Shadow! Of __**course**__ you are! Don't say that!'_

'_I have never benefited anyone.'_

'_Yes you have. Maria, for starters.'_

A sharp pang resounded in him at the name. _'Who told you of her?' _he demanded.

'_That's not important. But Shadow, you were her only friend. Without you, she would've been alone. Also, you saved, like, the __**whole planet**__ when you stopped the ARK from falling. __**And**__, you nearly got yourself killed in the process! That's gotta count for something. Also…'_ She paused. Nope, she couldn't say that. It would give away the fact that she'd known him her whole life.

Shadow was having trouble absorbing everything she was saying. He was so used to people hating him…Well, Tayla just threw him off guard.

The young teen could feel his emotions, sense what he was thinking. It saddened her. The dark, antisocial hedgehog was so used to everyone treating him differently because of what he was or how he looked that he never even bothered with them anymore. It must be hard, she thought, to live like that.

'_You know what?'_ she suddenly announced, breaking the silence. _'I dunno about the rest, but __**I'm **__really happy I met you. It's, like, the __**best thing**__ that's __**ever**__ happened to me. __**Ever**__.'_

Silence descended as Shadow took in her words. The quiet enveloped them, surrounding them like a warm blanket. For awhile, the pair simply watched the stars, Shadow laying on the roof with the unconscious Tayla snuggled against him. Then, from inside his head, she suddenly called out, _'Satellite!'_ and the game began anew.

Shadow and Tayla then counted comets and satellites until the sun awoke, splashing fire across the cloudless sky and once again hiding the stars from view.

_From underneath the trees, we watch the sky,_

_Confusing stars, for satellites._

_And as we lie, beneath the stars,_

_We realize, how small we are._

_Singin' A-men I,_

_I' m alive_

_Singin' A-men I,_

_I'm alive_

**Me:**** Okay, a few points here! **

**1) My father and I sometimes roll out sleeping bags on the beach and watch the stars, eat chocolate, and see who can find the most shooting stars and satellites, all the while pointing out any constellations we can see. It's**_** amazing**_**. **

**2) I was totally serious. Dalex, the top villains in Doctor Who, look like trashcans with eyestalks and plungers. FEAR THE SUCKY THING!**

**3) My grandpa died of cancer, three months after my grandmother. This chapter sorta reflects the way I feel about the whole thing. Everything always resets. Pain doesn't last forever. This chapter is dedicated to him. I miss you, Grandpa.**

**4) My excuse for my lateness in updating is the chaos surrounding Grandpa's funeral. Okay? Okay.**

**5) The song at the end is called If Everyone Cared by Nickleback, and I did NOT write it, though I might've done a tiiiiiny bit of rearranging.**

**6) To fast-forward to the next chapter, press the blue button below.**

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	17. Breakfast

_Shari watched the sunrise through Sonic's window, bare hands behind his head and shoeless feet poking out from beneath the blanket. He was exhausted. She could feel it. Since she'd arrived, his body hadn't been given the proper rest it needs. People regain most of their energy in deep sleep, but he seemed stuck half-awake, his mind asleep while his body served its new resident. _

_Shari sighed. She didn't mean to do this to him, but she didn't really have a choice. Whenever she and Sonic were both asleep, she would be in control of him. Technically, his body was, more or less, awake. Higher functions, such as sight, hearing, or touch, hadn't had the chance to be truly dormant since her arrival, and her newfound friend was paying the price. She was wearing him out. _

_She had to go home._

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Shari's eyes flicker open as she felt herself slowly regaining consciousness. She was awake. _Finally_. Maybe now, Sonic could really get some sleep. Shari got out of bed and tip-toed down the stairs and through the hallway, careful not to wake the tired hedgehog.

Quietly, she creaked open the door to the kitchen and carefully closed it behind her. Then, she turned toward the fridge for an early breakfast. As she did, something across the room caught her eye. She did a double take. …What?

Shadow the hedgehog was leaning back against the couch, his eyes closed and his breathing even. Curled up next to him, her blond head buried in his fluffy white chest, was a sleeping Tayla.

Last time Shari checked, Shadow wanted nothing more than to be as far away from her friend as possible. Now, he looked completely relaxed, even with Tayla undoubtedly raging chaos inside his head. Maybe she was giving him a break? …Nope. Not possible. Tayla would always be Tayla.

After a few seconds, the dark hedgehog cracked open one intimidating eye and glanced at her. Shari swallowed. "Uh…um…G-Good morning."

Shadow replied with a disinterested "Hmph.", which was probably the closest you could get to a 'good morning' with him, and reclosed his eye. He didn't react when Tayla snuggled further into his fur, scooting up so that the top of her head was tucked under his chin.

Shari admired his tolerance level.

After a moments hesitation, Shari opened the fridge and took out the milk. After a bit of rummaging, she managed to find a small bowl, a spoon-type thing, and a box of what _should_ be cereal. All the while she was very aware that Shadow was no more than ten feet away from her. Shari sat down at the stool near the counter, poured her cereal and milk, and started eating.

It was so. Weird.

Lunch was fine. Dinner? No problem. But breakfast? Shari had been eating breakfast in the comfort of her own home since the day she was born. To her, breakfast = home.

Munching on her cereal, she half-expected her brother to come pounding down the stairs of their apartment, throw open the fridge and complain that they were out of eggs _again_. Then he'd scarf down leftover waffles, furiously doing last-nights homework and muttering incoherently.

Her mom always came down next, half awake and moving on automatic. She usually end up bumping into the wall and running into the cabinet before remembering she was supposed to open it to look inside. After eating, she would almost always put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge. She usually didn't fully wake up until Shari had already left for school.

Shari's spoon stilled as she glanced around. Where was the sound of the pencil scratching against the paper or her mother's half-hearted 'good-morning'? Where was the sound of cars rushing by, of the neighbor's dog yapping at a squirrel, of the footsteps of high-schoolers?

A pang of homesickness resounded inside of her. She hadn't hugged her mother _or_ father in three days. It was a crime, really…

Tayla mumbled incoherently and turned over, nearly rolling her snoozing form right off the couch. Shadow's arm smoothly caught her before she'd fully fallen and pulled her closer to him, back on the safety of the couch. Shari blinked in surprise, then grinned. Tayla had gone and done it again. She could never quite understand how, but it always happened.

Tayla's over-the-top, friendly, hyperactive, and slightly insane personality effected everyone differently. Some thought she was adorable or hilarious, and loved her instantly. Others were put off by her strangeness and did their best to politely avoid her. However, something always seemed to change their mind.

Tayla was more than just weird; Shari knew it better than anyone. No, her giddy friend was layered. On the outside, she was like a five-year-old on a sugar high, but if you stuck with her long enough…Shari shook her head. She just couldn't explain it, but somehow, Tayla was always able to change their minds. There was just something about her…

Now, it seemed even Shadow had been more-or-less won over.

The dark hedgehog suddenly frowned, his eyebrows drawing down. Meanwhile, Tayla's sleeping form started giggling. Shari grinned. More-or-less.

Shadow's eyes opened and shifted sideways to Shari's startled form. He looked annoyed. She snapped her gaze back to her cereal, hoping the goose-bumps on her arms wouldn't be visible. When she peeked up at him again, his eyes were clenched shut. He glanced at her again, his blood-red eyes drilling into her, and looked away, staring hard at the wall.

Shari tried to keep eating, but he kept randomly staring at her, then the wall, then her again. Finally, she put down her spoon, her irritation once again overpowering her fear. "What?" she demanded.

The hedgehog look at her again, frowning, and Shari almost regretted saying anything.

Finally, he sighed. "She wants me to say 'Good morning'."

Oh. Shari put on a pleasant smile. "Well, good morning to you too. And good morning Tayla."

Shadow winced. "…She responded."

"I could tell." Shari smiled sympathetically. "It gets easier, you know. She's just never been in someone's head before."

"No kidding." He glanced down as Tayla's snoozing form, which now had both arms wrapped firmly around his middle, and his eyes softened slightly.

Shari guessed what he was thinking and sent him a grin. "Looks can be deceiving, huh?"

"Hmph."

Shari shook her head and went back to her cereal. Wow. She'd just managed to carry one some form of a conversation with Shadow. Glancing back up at him, she mentally patted herself on the back.

There was a moment of silence before the door suddenly opened and Amy stepped through. "Good morning!" she called cheerfully.

"Shhhhhh!" shushed both Shari and Shadow. Tayla groaned slightly and shifted, her head now practically on his shoulder, but stayed asleep all the same.

"Oops," Amy whispered, cringing. "Sorry." She glanced around. "Are you two the only ones awake?"

"As far as I can tell," Shari replied, her voice lowered. "I haven't seen Tails, but everyone else is still asleep."

Amy nodded, smiling slightly. "Oh, he's asleep alright. Probably stayed up all night trying to figure out how you hacked into his precious computer." She sighed. "Be right back." The pink hedgehog left for a few minutes, soon returning with a folded grey blanket. She then disappeared through the workshop door. When she came back, the blanket was gone.

Tayla put her spoon down. She had just put a blanket over his shoulders. Since when did that happen? Last time she checked, Amy was never this close to Tails. In fact, she always seemed kind of annoyed with him. Now, thinking back to their recent conversations, they were almost like siblings. Sometimes they bickered, though usually with good humor, but there always seemed to be an underlining affection.

Shari shook her head slightly. It must be because they were older. The Amy and Tails _she_ knew were eight and twelve respectively, just children. Now, Tails was around fifteen, which meant that Amy was, what, nineteen? Gosh, she was an adult now, wasn't she? And Sonic was three years older, about twenty-two. _Jeeze_, Shari mused. _That'll take some getting used to…_

Amy shut the door quietly behind her. "Yep," she whispered. "He's out for the count. Don't you worry about waking him up, though. That kid could sleep through Armageddon."

Shari grinned. "So can Tayla."

"So she's not a morning person, huh?"

Shari cocked her head. "Actually, she is. She sleeps like a rock, but she wakes up really quickly." She grinned. "We always said it's because she always has so much energy. Sleeps deep to recharge and is pinging off the walls when she wakes up."

"Looking forward to it," Shadow grumbled sarcastically.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRIING!

Everyone flinched as the sound of the telephone resounded through the house.

Tayla rolled over again and mumbled something. Shadow frowned down at her. "I am _not_."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "You know she can't hear you, right?"

"Actually, she can," Shari corrected, heading toward the fridge. "She's in his head, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Amy frowned. "That's going to take some getting used to."

"Tell me about it."

A few seconds later, the kitchen door creaked open and a half-asleep Sonic stumbled through, one ear crooked, fur disheveled, and quills sticking out in every direction. Shari was instantly reminded of her mother.

She grinned. "Bacon and eggs or cereal?"

"…Hmmm?" Sonic stared at her blankly for a second, before realizing she was talking to him. "Oh, uh…" he yawned. "Cereal? Or, uhhh…." He glanced around the kitchen through half-lidded eyes. "Yeah. Or uh, or…Cereal. With milk…and…" He yawned again. "And cereal." With that, Sonic slumped into the stool and let his head sink to the counter, nearly falling back asleep if not for the ringing telephone. "Ugh…Someone turn that thing off."

Shari bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile, not that he'd notice anyway.

Amy rolled her eyes. "My hero. If Eggman attacks in the morning, we're done for."

Sonic glanced at her. "Ha. Ha." Another yawn. "Seriously, though…Who could be calling at this hour?"

Amy gave him a dead pan stare. "Sonic, it's almost eleven."

"…Oh."

Shari rolled her eyes. "I'll get it," she volunteered, putting down the cereal and opening the door to the hallway. There, she paused. "Uh…"

"It's over here," Amy told her, walking toward the closet. "Wait, no…" She listened. "No, it over…" She quieted, following the sound. "Ooover…Here! Found it!" Amy announced, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out the phone triumphantly. At Shari's strange expression she rolled her eyes. "Inventors." She pressed a button and held the phone up to her ear. "And not just that. _Teen_ inventors. Hello?….Mhmm…..Yeah…No, this is a friend of his…No, he's asleep….Sure. Here, I'll take a message… Oh, no, don't worry about it; we're practically related. I do this all the time…Uh-huh." Amy's voice got quieter as she disappeared into the hallway, shutting the kitchen door behind her.

Sonic seemed to be waking up. At least he was coherently pouring his cereal. He reached for the milk, then stopped. "Wait a minute…I _hate _cereal. What am I doing?" He sighed and put the cereal away, then seemed to notice Shari for the first time. "Oh. Morning, Shari."

Shari grinned. "Hey, Sonic. Sleep well?"

"No idea." He stretched. "Anyway, I'm awake now. What'd I miss?"

She shrugged. "Nothing much. Amy got here a little while ago. Oh, and Tails fell asleep in front of one of his projects again."

Sonic grunted. "Huh. Doesn't surprise me." He glanced at the door. "Amy tuck him in?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Good."

Shari cocked her head. "Does she always do that?"

"Pretty much. When she's here, anyway." He stretched again. "Man, I'm feeling restless. What're we doing today?"

Shari gave him a strange look. "You were half-asleep two seconds ago and now you want to _do_ something?"

Sonic grinned at her. "Tell me about it. I don't really wake up right away, but I can get over it pretty quickly. So, what're we doing today?"

At about that time, the workshop door creaked open and Tails walked in. The grey blanket was still clinging to his shoulders and one of his ears was flopped over, but he seemed more awake than Sonic had been as he made his way around the counter and into the kitchen. "Morning, Sonic. Shari. Morning, Shadow."

"And Tayla," Shari added.

"And Tayla." He took out the eggs. "I'm going to do a bit of research today. We need to know how Eggman got Tayla and Shari into our world. What about you guys?"

Whatever response Sonic had in mind was interrupted by a thump. "Ow." Tayla mumbled, then looked up at Shadow who was glaring down at her. "Hey, don't you give me that look, Mister! For the umpteenth time, I can't control my movements when I'm asleep!"

"I'm aware of that, thank you."

Tayla stuck her tongue out at him, then grinned at the kitchen's occupants. "Good morning, everybody!"

Sonic grinned. "Morning, Tayla. How was your night."

The giddy teen sat up intently. "Oh, it was _amazing_! I found _fifteen_ shooting stars and thirteen satellites!"

Shadow frowned. "Actually, she only found _twelve_ satellites."

"No, I found thirteen!"

"That last one was _not_ a satellite."

"Yeah it _was_!"

"It never moved."

"It did too! I saw it!"

"I was watching, Tayla. It never even passed the first star on Orion's Belt."

"No, but it passed the werebunny constellation."

"It couldn't have. It was a _star_."

Tayla stuck her tongue out again. "You're just _jealous_ because you only found _ten_ satellites." She turned to Shari. "Honestly, he's _so_ competitive."

Amy reentered the room before he could retaliate, telephone in hand. "That was Josiah," she announced, looking at Tails. "He says if you don't pay your electric bill in the next two hours he's going to cut your electricity, confiscate all of your equipment, and then tazer you for good measure. Tails, when was the last time you paid him?"

Said fox ducked his head guiltily and shrugged.

Amy sighed. "Do you have the money?"

"Yeah…"

"Then get to it," she ordered, playfully smacking him on the head with the phone. "Before I tazer you myself."

Tails retreated to his workshop, then poked his head back out. "Oh, speaking of calls, we might want to contact search-and-rescue and warn them, just in case any more people come in from Shari's world."

"Since when did it become 'Shari's world'?" Tayla complained, pouting. "I live there too, you know."

Amy ignored her. "Sure, I'll dial them now." She typed in a few numbers and held the phone to her ear again. "Hello? Yes, hi. I'd like to speak to whoever is…Oh, hey! Aren't you the guy who dropped Shari off here? 'Mark', wasn't it?"

Shari perked up at the name. Mark had been one of the first people she'd met on this world.

"Yeah, this is Amy, Amy Rose….Uh-huh….Oh, yeah, she's fine…Yeah, hey, listen. I just called to warn you that there may be more humans from her home world."

"And mine!" Tayla called.

Amy once again ignored her, raising an eyebrow. "Really? Already?…Well, I suppose it's not _that_ surprising. I was just…Yeah, exactly. Hold on." She covered the speaker to address the room's occupants. "Mark says that they've already gotten another call. The circumstances were almost identical to yours, so it might be another human."

Shari frowned, thinking. If there were more people from her world, then they undoubtedly read fan fiction, which meant that they knew about Sonic and Co. What if they accidentally gave something away, like Tayla almost did? "Hey, maybe I should come with them."

"Come with them? Why?"

Shari glanced up to find everyone looking at her. She'd said that out loud? Shoot, how was she supposed to explain this? Feigning disinterest, she shrugged. "Well, all things considered, I think I took the whole suddenly-waking-up-on-a-different-planet thing really well. Tayla thought the whole thing was a dream for a long time, so she didn't really freak out."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "I beg to differ."

Shari ignored him. "Even so, _most_ of the people our age would probably have a heart attack when they see an armadillo in the helicopter instead of a normal human being, no offense."

Amy started catching on. "So you think you should go there to…Break it to them gently?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I know _I_ could've really used some human support when I first got here. It would've made things a lot easier." She bit her lip. _Please work_.

"But Shari," Tayla protested, "Don't you think it would be better if-"

"Tayla," Shari interrupted. "Think Jeremy."

Tayla's protest died in her throat. "…Ah. Right. That would be bad."

Tails raised an eyebrow. "Jeremy?"

Tayla nodded. "Yeah. He's scared of everything."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Kid, I'm sure that search-and-rescue can deal with a little screaming."

"I'm _not a kid_! And it's not just that," Tayla warned, bouncing up and down in agitation. "One day, our teacher brought a rat to school, and Jeremy, like, _totally_ freaked out and started beating him with a _desk_!"

"It looked heavy too," Shari commented.

"Yeah!" Tayla agreed. "Those things weigh, like, _thirty pounds_!"

"And did you see how _skinny_ he was?"

"Like a toothpick! Or maybe three…Four?" Tayla shrugged. "I dunno."

Shari looked around to notice everyone staring at them. "Uh, yeah. So maybe I should join them."

Amy nodded. "Maybe you should. I'll ask." She walked away again.

Shari breathed a sigh of relief, earning a slightly confused look from Tayla. "Besides," she continued, "It's not like I've got anything better to do. Everyone else is busy today."

Sonic cocked his head. "Really? I'm not."

Shari raised an eyebrow. "Well, you've changed seats three times in the past two minutes. I'm guessing that if you don't go running soon, you're going to be pinging off the walls."

Sonic ducked his head sheepishly. "It's kinda a morning routine."

"And Tails," she continued. "You already said you had things you needed to work on today. And Amy's taking Tayla shopping."

Amy, who had just walked into the room, paused in mid stride. "I am?"

"She's been wearing the same outfit for _six days_."

"Ah. Alright then. Shall we?" She glanced behind her to the impassive hedgehog on the couch. "What about dark-and-broody over there?"

"Oh, oh, _oh_!" Tayla gasped, dashing over and latching onto him. "He's coming with _us_!"

From across the room, Sonic choked on his toast.

**Me:**** Hee hee hee…I'm mean. I'm so mean, I'm going to be bossy and order my readers to press the review button below.**

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**V**


	18. The Best Cure for a Shop a Holic

**Me:**** Nearly every person who reviewed this story (and sometimes others) told me they couldn't wait until I wrote the shopping scene. I was actually going to leave that part out and just show the afterward, like I did when Sonic rescued Tayla, but I decided, from the reviews, to chuck was I was going to originally write and dedicate an entire chapter to the HORRORS OF SHOPPING! DUN, DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUUN!**

"I'm telling you, those things are evil," Tayla insisted, ducking behind an apathetic Shadow and peaking out suspiciously.

Amy groaned. "Tyla, we don't have _time_ for this!" She shifted her weight, trying to adjust four over-stuffed shopping bags without spilling their contents.

"TAYLA!" Tayla corrected, attracting stares from fellow shoppers. "Shadsy, attack it."

The dark hedgehog, to his credit, managed to completely ignore her. He stared at the ceiling, pretending to be very interested in the metallic arches and long, neon banners that proudly advertised everything from flat-screen TVs to eggbeaters.

Amy glared at him. "And _you're_ no help."

Shadow sent her a look. "I am not attacking a stuffed bear."

"But they bite!" Tayla insisted again, tugging on Shadow's arm. "I know they do! One of them took off my finger!"

He sent her a dry look. "You currently have all your fingers."

"It grew back."

Amy messaged her forehead. "Look, Tyla, we've been shopping for over an hour and we haven't even gotten you anything!"

Tayla looked up at Shadow. "Why is it that you're the only person who can pronounce my name?"

"Look," Amy began, putting her hands on her hips in an attempt to look stern. "Can we just-"

The teen gasped, interrupting her. "What is _that_!" she cried, pointing to a floating platform. It traveled between parallel lines of blue light and seemed to be carrying shoppers across the top floors. Before anyone could respond, Tayla took off in its direction, dragging a rather unenthusiastic Shadow behind her.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Ten completely pointless rides later, Tayla skipped down the main floor at the mall, humming 'Zippidy-Do-Dah', three shopping bags flopping against her legs, her two companions trailing after her. Amy eyed Shadow, who looked more-or-less bored and completely unimpressed with his surroundings. "So," she began, momentarily drawing his attention, "How did she force _you_ to come?"

He glanced sideways at her. "She didn't."

"Then what the heck are you doing here?"

The dark hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "I originally came to keep her from killing herself. Currently, it seems to be everyone else."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Well, you're not doing a very good job. She's terrorizing the entire mall!"

"Precisely my point." At Amy's bewildered expression, he calmly explained. "Now I'm keeping everyone else from killing her."

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

"No," Amy stated, folding her arms.

Shadow shrugged. "Then you'll never find her."

She groaned. "But it's embarrassing!"

He simply shrugged again. "Suit yourself."

She gave him a look. "Why are you so calm?"

"Eventually, she'll get bored and try to force me to do something."

"Well I don't have all day."

"Then call her."

Amy groaned. "Fine." She took a deep breath. "MARCO!" Amy yelled. She and Shadow both went deathly silent, listening.

From somewhere far off in the distance, they heard a reply. "POLO!"

The two exchanged a look. Shadow grunted. "Told you."

Amy shook her head, heading in the direction of the voice. "How do you even know about that?"

His look became pained. "Tayla…mentioned it earlier."

She grinned. "She was horrified you didn't know it?"

"Immensely."

Amy nodded and took a deep breath. "MARCO!"

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Eventually, Tayla stopped returning their calls. Amy guessed she'd grown bored with the game. Shadow, having known her longer, was understatedly pessimistic. He sighed and quickened his pace, wondering dimly what she'd gotten herself into this time.

After a bit more searching, they heard her.

"LET GO! LEMME GO! You'd better or I'll set my big brother on you! He'll tear you limb from-EEP! Hey! Ow, that _hurts_!"

The two rounded the corner of a furniture store to find Tayla squirming and kicking, her wrist held in the air by a rather unenthusiastic mall attendant.

Amy sighed. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry! What did she do?"

"Ow!" Tayla cried. "LET GO!"

The attendant gave them a dry look. "She was trying to build a 'fort' out of our products." He glanced at Shadow. "I suppose _you're_ the 'big brother' she keeps threatening me with?"

Suddenly, Tayla stilled, hanging limply in the man's grip. All three looked at her, surprised. "Shadow…Shadow, it hurts. Make him stop." She whimpered quietly.

Shadow's ear twitched. She'd used his real name. He frowned. "Give her to me," he commanded.

The shop attendant looked as shocked as they were. "Oh, sorry," he apologized, releasing her.

Immediately, she ran into Shadow, nearly knocking him over. For a moment, she stood there, her face buried in his fur. Shadow looked down at her. She was shivering.

Amy watched her curiously. "Is she alright?"

Tayla didn't move. Then, she looked up at Shadow, stared into his eyes. She smiled. He raised an eyebrow. "'Big brother', huh?"

Tayla bit her lip, looking sheepish. Suddenly, the teen gasped, spying something behind him. "Ohmigosh, WHAT is THAT!" she cried, and Shadow winced as she suddenly hoisted herself up onto his shoulder, leaning over his head and pointing to something in the distance.

"Tayla, get off."

"Why?"

"It's degrading."

"So?"

"Get off."

She huffed. "Fiiiiiine."

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

"Da-da-daaaaaaaaa! DA-da-da-da-DAAAAA! DA-da-da-da-DAAAAA! DAAA-da-da-da-DAAAAAAAAAA!" Tayla sang dramatically, swinging her arms to and fro like an orchestra director.

Amy ducked her head at the stares they were getting. "That's alright, Tyla. I really don't care what the theme song is."

"Dun-dun-DUUUUN! DA-DA-da-da-da-DUN! Du-DUN! Da-da-da-DUN! Du-DUN!" Tayla continued obliviously. "How do you guys NOT know Star Wars? It's a crime!" She pouted. "We seriously need to have a movie marathon night. Oh, LOOK!" She suddenly gasped, pointing to a giant inflatable cucumber. "It's LARRY! Hi, Larry!" She turned and whispered in Shadow's ear. "He's from Veggie Tales."

The dark hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "'Veggie Tales'?"

"Uh-huh! It's a show about talking vegetables and silly songs with Larry and a really, really, _really_ big pickle. And Dave. His voice is squeaky, but for some reason, everyone loves his singing."

Shadow stared at her. "You watch a show about talking vegetables."

She nodded enthusiastically.

He rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Amy stalked through the isles of a clothing store, Shadow trailing after her. Tayla had dragged them there and then completely disappeared. Again.

Amy paused next to a circular clothing rack, hands on her hips. "If I don't find her in the next three minutes, I'm leaving without her," she informed the dark hedgehog. "Feel free to stick around." She shook her head. "Seriously, that girl's a real-"

"**SNOODLEBERRY**!"

"_HYAHH!_"

Tayla giggled, crawling out of a nearby clothing rack. She dusted herself off. "She really didn't know I was there?"

Shadow glanced upwards. "No."

Tayla followed his gaze and whistled. "Wow."

Her partner nodded.

"Those ceiling lamps are surprisingly sturdy."

Another nod.

"How long do you think she'll be up there?"

"It depends. There's a rather large tear in that wire."

"So should we get a ladder or-"

CRASH!

"Oh. Hi Amy! Oh, woops, I think your headband's still up there."

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

"What about this one?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"No."

"It's pretty!"

"No."

"Shadsy likes it, don't you Shadsy?"

"…"

"See, Tayla? Not even Shadow can-"

"Oh, wow, I'm feeling _really_ sleepy…"

"It looks fine."

"Told you!"

"…Traitor."

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

"HI STEVE!"

Both hedgehogs winced in sympathy for the innocent mall attendant that had quite suddenly tripped over a nearby pile of bags.

Tayla was completely oblivious, leaning close to the bewildered man and giving him her biggest smile. "I know your name!" she informed him cheerfully, completely thrilled with his nametag. With that, she turned and zipped over to another attendant. "BRITNEY!"

"IYEEEE!" the woman, a cougar, jumped a good six feet in the air, landing on an overhang and hissing automatically. Tayla never noticed, spying an interesting advertisement and zipping over to it.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Tayla had disappeared again. Amy, understandably wary, decided to sit this one out. She shooed Shadow into the store she'd been last spotted in. "Let me know when you've found her, alright?"

The dark hedgehog sent her a glare, then begrudgingly complied. Amy had been running in circles since they got here, and the trio was rapidly approaching hour three. She deserved a break.

Calmly, Shadow trudged through the toy store, mechanically avoiding the screeching children dashing around at his feet. When he got to what he assumed was the middle, he paused, listening. When no screaming, crashing, or other sounds of mass destruction ensued to point him in the right direction, he sighed and trudged on. Surprisingly, he didn't have to go very far.

Tayla was sitting cross-legged in the middle of an isle, staring at one of the items on the shelf. She looked strangely calm. Shadow blinked slowly, the only sign of confusion, and walked up to her. Tayla was never this still. He quietly went to stand behind her. There, he waited.

At first, Tayla didn't seem to notice him, but after a few minutes of silence, she spoke. "I didn't think you'd have these on your world." She paused again, a sure sign that something was up.

Shadow casually peered over her shoulder. A half-dome shaped mass of clear white bristles sat in front of her. He blinked again. "What is it?"

Tayla smiled slightly. "It's a nightlight. When you turn it on, the colors go through these tubes and make the ends glow. See?" She reached forward, lifted the thing, and clicked it on. Immediately, it became a swirling kaleidoscope of bright greens, warm reds, and deep blues and purples.

Tayla tucked her legs close to her and put her chin on her knees, the colors reflecting in her eyes. "I've always wondered how they made the colors so…deep. So real. It's comforting, watching them blend into each other." There was a moment of silence as the two watched the device, neither in any hurry to leave. Then, Tayla ducked her head lower. "Mommy bought these for me and Sophie. She had to work a lot, and we used to get scared when we went to bed without her. She said the lights would protect us until she got home…"

_Until she got home. _Shadow blinked slowly as a memory quietly presented itself.

_The pound took her when Mommy and Sophie died._

The silence returned.

…

…

Without a word, Shadow sank to his knees and pulled her against him. Tayla tensed in surprise at first, feeling his arm wrap around her, then quietly sank into his fur, accepting. Neither moved, watching the colored lights swirl and glow, casting dancing shadows on the wall behind it.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

"Took you long enough," Amy commented dryly, replacing her headphones as Tayla skipped out of the toy store, Shadow at her heals.

"Shadsy bought me a present!" she chirped happily, shoving a bag in the pink hedgehog's face.

Amy backed up to avoid getting hit. "Right…" She sent the dark hedgehog a look. "It appears you took your sweet time." Shadow didn't respond, or so much as glace at her. He was watching Tayla as she skipped off down the hall, his expression drawn and serious. Amy studied him curiously. "Shadow? Are you okay?"

Shadow blinked, and suddenly the look was gone, replaced by his typical disinterested scowl. "You're going to loose her again, you know."

Any thought of Shadow's behavior flew out of Amy's mind as his sentence sunk in. She squeaked a whirled around. "Oh, shoot, where…?" After a moment of frantic searching, she spotted Tayla at the end of the hallway, staring at an ice-cream vendor with a gleam in her eye. "Oh, great," Amy muttered, running after her. "This is the _last_ thing we need."

Shadow followed at a significantly slower pace, his head bowed, completely lost in his thoughts.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

SLAM!

Tails, who'd been frying up dinner, jumped a good three feet as the front door banged open. Amy promptly marched in, her fur sticking out every which way, her shirt rumpled, and one pants leg rolled halfway up. She walked to the middle of the living room, dropped everything she was carrying, and left. Shadow entered in a moment later, dragging along a humming Tayla with a bag clutched to her chest.

Tails gave them a wry grin. "Have a good time?"

Tayla nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh! Shadsy got me a present!"

Tails raised an eyebrow at the emotionless hedgehog behind her. "A present?" He snapped his mouth shut at the warning look the hedgehog gave him. _Well, fine then_. He watched as Shadow took his place on the couch, Tayla still dancing around the room.

Tails rolled his eyes and sighed, turning off the stove. "Well, I made enough for six, but Amy left and Sonic and Shari aren't back yet." He shook his head, loading his plate before turning to his workshop. "Enjoy. I've still got stuff to do."

As the door clicked shut, Tayla zipped up to get her food.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Two hours later, Shadow lounged on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Moonlight drifted through the window behind him, making everything still visible, even though no lights were on. Tayla had disappeared again, but Shadow hadn't seen her leave the house, so he wasn't particularly worried.

He frowned, remembering the teen's strange reaction to the way the attendant had been treating her. If he didn't know any better, he'd almost think she'd looked scared. His eyes narrowed. Tayla didn't get scared. She made that blatantly obvious when she'd tackled him to the floor only the night before.

The teen seemed so comfortable around him, yet she could be so irritating. Shadow didn't know what to make of her. She seemed to have no fear at all of him harming her, even after he'd caused her pain the previous day, throwing her away from him in a bout of frustration. On the contrary, she seemed to treat him as her personal bodyguard. More and more, Shadow found himself being the protector.

He sighed, closing his eyes as he recalled her many declarations the night before.

"_I like the sound of your voice."_

"_Because I wanted to spend time with you."_

"_Which constellation is yours?"_

'_You know what? I dunno about the rest, but __**I'm **__really happy I met you. It's, like, the __**best thing**__ that's __**ever**__ happened to me. __**Ever**__.'_

Shadow frowned again, staring at the ceiling. How was he supposed to respond to that?

A soft 'thump' startled him out of his musings. He glanced over to see Tayla's small form padding toward him, outlined by the moonlight. "Hold this," she ordered, shoving his 'present' in his arms. Shadow watched her bemusedly as she grunted and heaved, dragging a small table to the middle of the room. Then, she climbed up on the couch, reaching over and closing the drapes.

For a moment, Shadow could see nothing. He felt her take the thing back from him and heard her pad over, set it on the table, and click it on. Immediately, the room was filled with deep, shifting colors as the nightlight noiselessly came to life. Tayla stepped back, nodded in satisfaction, padded over to Shadow, and crawled into his lap, snuggling into his fur.

The dark hedgehog groaned. "Isn't there a plug upstairs?"

"Didn't want to be upstairs."

"Why not?"

She snuggled deeper and let out a sigh. "Shari's gone. It's lonely up there."

Shadow stared at her for a moment, then grunted his annoyance.

"I knew you would understand."

"Shut up and go to sleep."

Silence descended as the two watched the colors swirl and dance, bathing the room in an warm, unearthly glow.

**Me:**** Okay, I SERIOUSLY enjoyed writing that. I seem to be becoming increasingly attached to little Tayla. Just saying. Right. **

**Also, to those who I told I'd update three days ago, something came up to interrupt me, and I've been without an available internet ever since. So, sorry, and I uploaded as soon as I could. **

**I wasn't kidding about the whole reviews-inspire-me thing! This chapter would not be here if I hadn't decided to reread all my stories awesome comments! THANK YOU ALL! **

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**V**


	19. You've Got Some Serious Thrill Issues

Earlier That Morning…

'_**Riiiiiiight…'**_

'_**What? It's true!'**_

'_**Uh-huh.'**_

'_**No, seriously, it really is.'**_

_Sonic sighed. __**'Shari, there isn't a person I know that ISN'T afraid of spiders.'**_

_Shari grinned. __**'What, so you're saying you ARE?'**_

'_**No!'**_

'_**So it's because I'm a GIRL, right?'**_

'_**It's because you're a kid.'**_

'_**I am NOT a-'**_

'_**Hey, RELAX. I was joking.' **__Sonic ducked under a low branch, grinning as he ran.__** 'Look, I'm just saying that-'**_

'_**ROCK!'**_

_Sonic raised an eyebrow. __**'Huh? Seriously, what's up with-WHOA!'**__ Sonic dodged to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding a rather large boulder in his path._

'_**What's the matter? Am I distracting you again?'**_

'_**Ha, ha.'**__ Sonic retorted dryly. _

_Shari mentally grinned. She __**loved**__ this, running with him. It was so exhilarating! Even with Sonic merely cruising along, the landscape still sped by them in a blur of color, sound, smell, and touch…_

_She had never dreamed it would feel this way. All those years, all those nights she had spent, just a child, dreaming what it would be like to run like her childhood hero…She'd never expected to actually get that chance, to experience that __**wonder**__. _

_Now, here she was, running __**with**__ him. His heartbeat was hers, his breathing, his smile. With their minds connected, she could __**feel**__ his giddy joy, his freedom, the yearning for __**speed**__. It was __**no wonder **__he was always so restless! Shari would be too if she had __**this**__ to look forward to!_

_He skidded to a stop at the edge of a cliff._

'_**Oh, WOW…'**__ Shari breathed. __**'You can see EVERYTHING from up here!'**__ She was right. The landscape stretched out before them in all directions, miles and miles of forests, rivers, and rocky mountains with waterfalls streaming out every which way, misting the air. __**'We're so HIGH!'**_

_Sonic grinned. __**'Not for long.'**__ His grin widened as he felt her terror suddenly shoot through them. __**'Hey, re-LAX,' **__he laughed. _

'_**Y-Y-You-You WANT me to-Are you INSANE!'**__ Before she could say anything else, he ran backwards, turned, and dashed strait toward the edge of the cliff._

_Shari was horrified. He was going to get them __**killed**__! Stop. Stop. __**Stop**__. __**Stop! '!'**_

_Sonic lurched, letting out a surprised yelp as his body suddenly jerked itself backwards. He fell, rolled, and slid on his back a few feet, skidding to a stop teetering halfway off the cliff. He hurriedly scrambled backwards and fell back, breathing hard from adrenaline. _

_Silence._

'…_**Ow.'**_

_Shari still had adrenaline ping-ponging around inside her. __**'…What just happened?'**_

_Sonic let out a short laugh. __**'You really…really didn't want me to jump off that cliff.'**_

_He felt the teen's embarrassment. __**'I don't like heights.'**_

_After a few seconds of recovery, Sonic sat up. __**'Right. Let's try that again, shall we?'**_

'_**WHAT!'**_

'_**What, you don't think I'm gonna give up that easily, do you?'**_

_Shari responded with a lovely mental image of strangling him._

_Sonic laughed. __**'O-Okay, now. Just-Shari. Shari! Just calm. Down. Breath, okay?'**_

'_**You're about to JUMP OFF A FREAKING CLIFF and you want me to CALM DOWN!'**_

'_**Yes. You're making me tense up and-'**_

'_**And BACK AWAY from the edge, right! You're going to BACK. AWAY. NOW.'**_

'_**No.'**_

'_**Sonic**__**…"**_

'_**I'm going to ask you to trust me.'**_

_Oh, that just wasn't __**fair**__. Shari spluttered unintelligibly for a couple of seconds, went very quiet, then sighed. __**'Just…Just…Don't get us killed, okay?'**_

_She could feel him grin.__** 'No problemo!'**_

'_**That's not very reassuring.'**_

'_**How about 'I've done this before'?'**_

'_**Slightly more reassuring.'**_

'_**Well, I've done something SIMILAR, anyway…'**_

'_**Sonic!'**_

_The hedgehog grinned. __**'What?'**__ Once again, he backed up, and shot forward, propelling himself over the edge of the cliff. _

_Shari tried not to scream as they suddenly plummeted downwards, the wind howling past his quills. They were diving parallel to the cliff, and Shari watched, terrified, as the rocky cliff side sped by them in a blur of color. _

'_**Shari, relax! Try and enjoy yourself.'**_

_She was. As much as she hated heights, falling was the closest thing she'd every come to flying. It was an __**amazing**__ sensation. She panicked slightly when Sonic smiled and closed his eyes to enjoy said sensation. __**'Sonic…'**_

'_**Trust me, Shari.'**_

_After a bit of hesitation, Shari did as she was told. Then, suddenly, Sonic was running. What? __**'Sonic, how are…?'**_

_Sonic grinned again and opened his eyes in response, letting her see. He was facing the ground now, his feet thundering against the cliffside as he sped down it._

'_**Whoa…'**_

'_**Told you to trust me, didn't I?'**_

_Shari mentally frowned. __**'I still don't see how this will keep us from crashing into the ground. If anything, we're going FASTER.'**_

_Sonic rolled his eyes. __**'You're a real pessimist, you know that? You've just got to trust me.'**_

'_**Excuse me for being realistic.'**_

'_**Hey, I've violated the law of gravity more times than I can count.'**_

'_**Just tell me that when you jumped off that cliff, you had a plan in mind.'**_

'_**Well…'**_

'_**Sonic!'**_

'_**Hey, I do NOW, so chill.'**_

_Suddenly, Sonic shifted, starting to run sideways, still picking up speed. In a moment, he was running parallel to the ground._

_**CRACK!**_

'_**Woops, there goes the sound barrier. Woohoo, did you FEEL that? Talk about invigorating.'**_

'_**Congratulations, we are now deaf.'**_

'_**Aw, don't worry so much. It only lasts for a minute or so.'**_

'_**At this rate, your hearing's gonna start to go at thirty. Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! WARN me next time!'**__ Shari shouted as Sonic turned again, now running strait up the cliff._

'_**See? No problem.'**_

_Shari sighed. __**'You know you're insane, right?'**_

'_**Yup!'**_

'_**Good. Just checking.'**_

_There was silence for awhile as the pair ran along the cliffside, the wind rushing past them, adrenaline heightening their senses. _

'_**Sonic?'**_

'_**Hm?'**_

'_**Thanks. This is amazing.'**_

_She felt him smile. __**'You're welcome.'**_

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Shaaaari! Wakey, wakey!" John sang, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hrrrmm…Wha?" Shari mumbled, groggily pulling herself onto one elbow to regard the blurry green tiger before her.

Said tiger grinned. "We're almost there! Get up!"

Shari yawned. "I'm a gettin'…" In a moment, she was more or less awake, sitting up and taking in her surroundings. It took a moment to remember where she was. Oh, yeah. The helicopter. She must have fallen asleep on the way there. Again.

Shari glanced down. It was the same seat too. She remembered waking up here only a couple of days ago to discover she had obtained a certain scar in her dream. Shari eyed her still-bandaged arm. It seemed so long ago…

"You don't still need that, do you?"

Shari looked back up at the armadillo sitting across from her. "Uh, no, I _guess_ not," she replied uncertainly. "But then I wouldn't really know. The biggest cut I had before this only needed a Band-Aid and some disinfectant."

Mark nodded. "Can I see?"

The teen shrugged. "Sure, knock yourself out."

Mark paused in mid-stride and gave her a strange look.

Shari sighed. "It's an expression."

"Oh…" The armadillo raised an eyebrow. "That's a really…odd expression."

"I know."

He kneeled beside her and slowly began unwrapping her bandage.

"I see someone," the pilot called over her shoulder, making them both jump. "Landing."

John cocked his head, adorably clueless. "She sees someone landing? Then it can't be a human, because humans can't fly." He paused and scrutinized Shari. "Can you?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "_We're_ landing, John."

"Oh…"

By then, the armadillo had completely unwrapped Shari's bandage, revealing a long scar spanning the length of her upper arm. He examined it. "Well, it looks alright to me. Just go easy on it for a couple of days and it should be fine."

Shari nodded absentmindedly, staring at the scar. She'd gotten this, what, two days ago? It seemed like she'd had it forever…

The helicopter rocked slightly as it hit the ground. Mark walked over and started to pull open the door.

Shari stopped him. "Hold on a minute!"

He paused, confused.

The teen rolled her eyes. "What am I here for?"

Mark stared at her for a moment. Then, it dawned on him. "Oh…right." He stepped away. "You want to be the first thing they see, to break it to them gently." He nodded. "Go ahead. 'Knock yourself out'."

Shari grinned, walked over, and slid the door open. She climbed out carefully, nearly tripping over the little step designed to _help_ you, and closed the door behind her, hiding her Mobian friends from view.

Right. Now what? She scanned the meadow in front of her. The pilot had said she'd seen someone. So where were they? Frowning, she headed toward the tree, the one she'd first woken up under. Maybe…

Reaching said tree, she peered around it. Nope. No teenagers here. Shari folded her arms. Where…? A quiet shift in the grass caught her attention. She whirled around. A pair of glowing red eyes stared back at her. A metal hand clamped down on her mouth, cutting off her scream.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

'_I'm a little tea pot, short and stout! Here is my handle, here is my spout!'_

Shadow grit his teeth, trying to keep his temper in check. _'Tayla, that's enough,'_ he growled.

He heard her sigh. _'Fiiiiine…'_

There was a moment of silence, and Shadow closed his eyes, savoring it.

'_Shadsy, I'm bored.'_

Right. The dark hedgehog was quickly realizing that a sleeping Tayla didn't mean a quiet one. He glanced down at her dozing form, snuggled up against him. She'd fallen asleep on his lap after watching the colorful 'nightlight' for nearly an hour. Now that her physical body wasn't tiring her, her mind was suddenly active. Hyper. Irritating.

He'd have to entertain her.

He sighed and stood, carefully laying the sleeping teen on the couch.

'_Hey! What are you doing?'_

Having learned that ignoring Tayla when she asked you a question only earned you a long, elaborate lecture, Shadow begrudgingly responded. '_Heading to the roof.'_

The teen gasped. _'Oh, we're going to watch the stars again? YAY!' _she cheered, and Shadow winced.

'_Keep it down.'_

'_What's the magic word?'_

'_How would you like to wake up with egg in your hair?'_

'…_Close enough.'_

Rolling his eyes, Shadow turned and headed out the door.

As silence one again entered the house, Tayla's sleeping body automatically turned over, getting comfortable. A small sigh drifted out of her mouth.

Her unconscious form never noticed the glowing red eyes in the shadows. Their owner cautiously made it's way toward her, looking around nervously. Lucky for it, Shadow was no where in sight. Finally.

Metal arms carefully lifted the teenager off the sofa. Apart from a small moan, the body made no response.

**Me:**** Guess who? Mee hee hee…Is it just me, or are these arrows getting longer? Press the shiny review button!**

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**V**


	20. Trapped

**Me:**** It LIIIIIIIIVES!** **MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *cough* Right. Anyway, **_**YES**_**, I am **_**continuing**_**! I have several reasons for taking so long, none of which you want to hear. However, during the course of my extended absence, I have rewritten this chapter at **_**least**_** four times, **_**and**_** figured out where I'm going with this story! WOOHOO! **

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:**** Anyone know what a snoodleberry is? Anyone? No?**

"Ow, _hey_!" Shari cried, tugging fruitlessly at the iron grip on her wrist. "Not so tight! I'm flesh and bone, here!"

The robot ignored her, dragging the protesting teen along the familiar corridors of Eggman's base. The last time Shari had been there, she'd been merely a passenger in Sonic's head. Now, she was a prisoner. _Wonderful_.

Sighing, Shari walked along beside her captor, not having much choice. This was one of the maintenance robots, the grey dome-shaped ones that never left the base. Her original captor, which resembled a metal hedgehog, had given her to it nearly an hour ago, ordering it to 'put her with the others'. This probably meant that the people she'd originally come to retrieve had been captured as well. Great.

On top of that, the robot had managed to inject her with something. At first, she'd thought it had been something to knock her out, but instead, she was wide awake.

"Look," she told her captor, "I'm not struggling anymore. Can you _please_ loosen your grip? Hello?" The robot ignored her, as she expected, and she sighed. "Are we there yet?"

Five minutes later, the robot finally stopped. It turned and pressed a button on a nearby key pad, pausing as the door whirred open before shoving her inside. Shari staggered slightly, trying to catch her balance from the abrupt push as the door behind her shut.

Great. Now what? She sighed, folding her arms and peering around the room. It was small and boxlike, with white walls, a metal floor and a singular, flat light imbedded in the ceiling. One section of the wall protruded outward, making what looked like a bench.

Right. Now what was she supposed to do? Sit on the bench and wait to be interrogated? Shari rolled her eyes. At first, she'd thought Eggman was an evil genius. Now, it seemed he was just evil. Did he really think that after all that time with Sonic, she would just turn around and rat out on him? Seriously?

She stood there for a few more minutes, thinking. No. No, that couldn't be it, she decided. Eggman may be crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He must have other methods of getting information from her.

_Methods like what? _

At the thought, a chill went down her spine. Was it possible that he had a device capable of reading her mind? No…No way! It couldn't be…No. However, the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, if Eggman was capable of combining her mind with Sonic's and Tayla's with Shadow's, then simply reading her mind…Well, it definitely fell into the realm of possibilities.

The thought made her feel light-headed, and she crossed the room to sink onto the bench. If she was right, and the others were here, then it was very possible that they'd already had their minds read. How much information had he gotten from them? Shari groaned, putting her head in her hands, remembering how dark some of the fanfiction had gotten.

If she was right, then Sonic and his friends were in big trouble.

She had to warn them. Quickly, Shari laid down and shut her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep. Minutes passed by, and she shifted uncomfortably. She felt restless, wide awake. Maybe it was adrenaline?

As she lay there on the cold, hard bench, time seemed to stand still. Still she waited, staring at the ceiling, tapping a finger against her hand. Feeling cramped, she rolled to one side, then to the other, then to her stomach. Time continued to pass, slowly and sluggishly.

After what felt like a good half-hour, she couldn't take it anymore. She was just too wide awake. Shari sighed, sitting up and leaning forward, elbows on her knees. It really didn't make any sense. She hadn't slept since this morning…Well, she supposed she had been knocked unconscious. Still, she felt like she'd just drunk six cups of coffee. She was almost…hyper.

As silence settled, Shari bit her lip, her situation slowly beginning to sink in. She was trapped. In a small room. With a lock. A prisoner. She'd never been a prisoner before…

She shook her head. Well, it would do her no good just sitting here. She frowned, looking around the room, probing it a second time for anything worthwhile, trying to keep her mind off the stunning lack of space. And the lock.

Finding nothing, she stood and began running her fingers along the walls, particularly where it connected with the ceiling. If she knew Eggman, he'd have some sort of camera that allowed him to keep an eye on her.

After a few minutes of poking and prodding, two cameras and a small speaker system were discovered. Unfortunately, the cameras seemed to be imbedded in the wall, but the speakers were connected by tiny screws.

Right. So, part one: remove the screws. Shari sat down and took off her shoe. Imbedded in the sole was a small compartment holding a tiny, keychain-sized screwdriver. _In case of emergency_, her father had said, grinning like an idiot when she'd discovered it a few years ago. At the time, little Shari had thought a secret compartment in her shoe was the coolest thing in the world.

She now used the little screwdriver to remove the speakers from the wall. If she was lucky, there would be a mess of wires behind it, some for the speaker, but most for much more important purposes. Like the security system. Unfortunately, it was most likely that the wires were offset by some sort of paneling. But she _had_ to do _something_.

Shari made quick work of the screws, then began to dig the screwdriver into the dry paint attaching the speakers to the wall.

Her need to work wasn't just a distraction, though. She couldn't _remember_ the last time she'd been this restless. She felt more awake then she had in weeks, and was hyper aware of everything around her. Ever little sound or smell seemed amplified. Just what had that robot injected her with?

_Don't think about it._

After a bit more digging, the speaker finally popped out of the wall. It was thin, and about the length and width of your average football. Shari carefully pulled it back, peering behind it at the mess of wires. Yes! Jackpot! There was no way he needed that many wires for one measly speaker.

Right. Now for part two. The teen carefully disconnected the speaker, then worked on separating and identifying the wiring. She had learned, in her many years of working with computers, that cutting random wires tended to make things blow up in your face. Unfortunately, identification took quite some time, and was really next to impossible seeing as the wires were _all the same color_! Honestly, _no_ creativity!

Needless to say, it was a little over an hour later that Shari finally felt confident enough to cut a wire. Unfortunately, it slipped from her fingers, strait back into the rest which happened to be _identical_ in shape and size, and she had to start all over. Drat.

Four hours and seven attempts later, the crucial wire had once again buried itself. Shari took a deep, calming breath, stepped back, and screamed. Now considerably calmed down, she decided, wisely, to take a break.

…

…

…Okay, her break was over. She needed to keep busy. After thinking a moment, Shari decided to focus on disconnecting the little cameras, which was really what she should've done in the first place.

She frowned at the little things, each on opposite corners of the room. They had no visible screws or wires, and seemed to be apart of the wall itself. How was she supposed to remove them? After thinking a moment, Shari picked up the discarded speaker, walked up to one of the cameras, and started smashing it. The little camera dented quite easily, and was soon nothing but a crumpled mess scrunched into the wall.

Shari frowned. On second thought, she probably should've gone a bit easier with the smashing. Now she couldn't use any of its pieces. Oh well, that's why there were two.

She had just crossed over to the second camera, planning to only hit it enough to _dislodge_ it, when a voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"**Hello? Is someone there?**"

Shari jumped, startled. That…that was another prisoner! She whirled around, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice. There! The camera! She must have dislodged something when she smashed it.

"Yes!" she replied immediately. "Yes, someone's here!"

"**Oh, thank god!**" The voice replied. "**I thought I was alone in here.**" A pause. "**Did…Did the robots bring you too?**"

Shari hesitated, her mind racing. If this prisoner…then…what if…It took her a few seconds to realize she'd been asked a question. "What? Oh, yeah, yeah they did. Hey listen, is there anyone else in there with you?"

The reply was deadpan. "**You **_**do**_** know what 'alone' means, right?**"

"Right! Right…Sorry." Shari muttered, thumping her head against the wall. Her mind was still rather frazzled from her five hour battle with the wiring. She sighed and tried again. "I meant…well, I guess I did mean that. Hmm….Oh, uh, have you tried contacting anyone else?"

"**You mean other than screaming **_**bloody murder **_**for the first hour or so? Nope. Not at all.**"

Shari bit her lip, thinking again. The only reason she was able to talk to this person was because she dislodged the camera in her room. For some reason, that connected the two rooms…Wait a minute.

"Where are you anyway?" she asked, then listed for a reply.

"**You tell me," **the voice answered dryly. **"Four walls, a ceiling and a floor, little bench-y thing, door…**"

Okay, so their rooms were pretty much the same. "I don't suppose you have any cameras in your room?"

"**Actually, I'm talking through one right now…You are **_**human**_**, right? Not some crazy computer program?**"

Shari grinned. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm real. What's your name anyway?"

"**Christina. You?**"

"Shari."

"**A pleasure. Listen, I don't suppose you know what the heck is going on here?**"

"A bit. I _do_ know that there's probably someone else here with us."

"**Wait, how much is a bit?**" Christina demanded. "**Because I don't know squat**."

Shari bit her lip, thinking the threat looming over their heads and the time she'd already wasted. "Later. Right now, we need to focus on contacting the others. Try and knock off the other camera."

"**Hey, who put **_**you**_** in charge anyway?**"

"Experience," Shari replied shortly, reaching back into the mess of wires to once again locate the security controls. "When the camera is gone, you _should_ be able to talk to someone." Her eyes narrowed in grim determination. "Tell them to be ready to run. Help is on the way."

_Hurry, Sonic._

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Glowing red eyes observed the scene before them through one of the few working monitors. The newest prisoner had tried to sleep, perhaps to contact her rescuer. It was futile, though. The shot of adrenaline the Sweeper had administered would keep her awake for at least a day. After that, the drugs in her food would do the trick.

…

Master would not approve.

At the thought, he quickly refocused his optics on the repairs. He knew he could locate the offending microchip, given time. It was irritatingly small, but he could sense it, closing in on him. It was like an internal cage, restraining his actions. It wasn't very difficult to pinpoint the it's location. It was simply difficult to remove it without shutting himself down.

A subtle feeling of hopelessness prompted his eyes to once again return to the monitor. The human child was still working on the wires, as though she could somehow understand them. Perhaps before, she might've had a chance, but now…

He wondered a moment why the…_Corruption_ wasn't stopping her. Perhaps she amused It.

_Why did It need them? For what purpose?_ For a moment, he stilled, again attempting to create a mental link with the main network, sneak past the firewalls, pry open the file…

Pain shot through him, and he stiffened, waiting for it to pass. That was another thing the Corruption had given him. Discomfort. He wondered how long it would be before he could feel. _Feel_. Physically, at least. The emotions had already done their work.

_Fear_. That was his least favorite. _Anger_. This one he didn't mind as much. Unfortunately, anger prompted irrational behavior. That could have him shut down. Permanently.

A rush of data invaded his system. He doubled over, optics wide, as another spasm shook him. Fire churned at his center, creeping through mechanical limbs. It was happening too fast, too frequent. He had to slow it down, somehow.

Metal hand gripping the table for support, he pulled himself off the ground, back into the chair, to once again observe the girl. As he did so, an idea made it's way into his mechanical mind. Another foreign emotion accompanied it. A strangely pleasant emotion. The first he had reason to hold onto.

Hope.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Shari carefully nudged a wire. "What about this one?"

There was a short pause, and then, "**Uh, I think that's the speakers.**"

The teen frowned. "You sure?"

"**No. But it just started crackling.**"

Darn it. She nudged another. "And now?"

"**That's the lights again.**"

Shari sighed, squinting her eyes. Why did all of these wires have to be the same color, anyway? Were his robots _colorblind _or something? No…They probably didn't even _need_ color. The robots could just _trace the electric current_, or whatever. She grumbled in annoyance, fiddling with another wire.

The videogames and shows made it seem like Robotnik was big on style. He never did the same thing twice…which was really quite impressive when you thought about it. _And_ he seemed to have this_ ridiculous_ obsession with the colors red and yellow. So far, though everything had the annoying tendency of being _identical_, and his favorite colors were apparently white and grey. _Joy_.

"**Wait, wait! Go back!**"

Shari jumped slightly as Christina's voice broke her train of thought. The wires fumbled from her fingers. _Dang it_… "What was it?" she called back, trying to relocate the wires. "What did you see?"

"**I thought…No, never mind. It was nothing.**"

Shari frowned, pausing. "_What_ was nothing?"

"**It was the cameras. They moved, just for a second…**"

She nodded. "Right. Okay, I could use that. Thanks."

"**But what about the **_**door**_**?**" Christina demanded.

"I'm _working_ on it," Shari replied, irritable. "And anyway, the doors will be useless if there's just going to be a robot on the other side. I've got to disengage the security first!"

She sighed again. She'd been working on these wires for _another_ strait hour. Christina had already contacted who she could from her end, and had passed the word on to be ready, but Shari was beginning to have her doubts that she could to _anything_. These wires didn't make any sense!

Suddenly, a cry rang from out in the hall, muffled by the doorway.

Both girls froze.

"**Hey, did you hear that?**"

"Yeah, yeah! Shhh!" Shari shushed her, listening intently. What was that? Another prisoner?

The was a moment of silence, followed by more sounds of struggling, and then, "_**Ahhrg**__!_ _Let __**go**__ of me you __**oversized dishwasher**__!_"

Shari's eyes widened. She knew that voice! Before she could stop herself, she was yelling through the door. "_Tayla_! Tayla, over here!"

_Oh, right. Because she __**totally**__ has control over where she's going. Real smart, Shari_.

There was a short pause as the struggling suddenly stopped. "_Shari? Shari! Ohmigosh, what are you doing here? Ow! That __**hurt**__, you ninny!_" The struggling continued. "_Shari! Shari __**geditoffofme**__! OFF!_"

"_**You will decease speaking to the prisoner**_**.**"

"_The __**prisoner**__? I __**am**__ the prisoner! I can speak to whoever I-HEY! Put me __**down**__! I'm not a-oof!-a flipping __**beanbag**__! Let!_" Clang! "_Go!_" Clang! "_Of!_" Clang!"_My-__**Ow**__. Hey! I'm __**upside down**__, you -_"

THUD.

Shari winced she heard Tayla unceremoniously dumped into the room beside hers. Right. Dislodging was overrated. She turned, retrieved the dented speaker, and smashed the remaining camera into tiny little pieces. In a moment, Tayla's voice filtered through.

"**Yeah, you'd **_**better**_** run! **_**Your mother was a toaster!**_"

"Tayla!" Shari called, then laughed as the insult registered. Man, it was good to hear her voice! Her internal celebration was cut short rather violently as a point was suddenly brought to mind. "Tayla, _what are you doing here_? Weren't you with _Shadow_? How did they get to you?" Shari demanded, panicking. If this thing was strong enough to fight off _Shadow_…

"**They **_**cheated**_**!**" Tayla cried indignantly.

Shari blinked. "What?"

"**They took me while I was **_**sleeping**_**! That is just **_**rude**_**!**"

"…_What_?"

Tayla sighed. "_**Well**_**, Shadsy an' I went to go watch the stars again 'cause I was bored and I had thirteen satellites and four shooting stars and Shadsy only found **_**nine**_** satellites but he saw **_**six**_** shooting stars only I think he made the last one up because I didn't see **_**anything,**_** the little cheater!" She took a deep breath. "Anyway, we left my body on the couch and I think the robot took it because I woke up and everything was all **_**shiny**_** and **_**metal**_** only the stupid robot was carrying me **_**upside-down**_** so I was really confused at first and all the blood was rushing to my head and everything was **_**fuzzy**_** and I yelled at it and it didn't listen to me because it was **_**a big meanie**_** and then it threw me in here and now I'm with you!**" A pause. "**You got it?**"

Shari grinned. "Yeah, I got it."

"**Good. 'Cause now I'm confused. Where was I?**"

"I believe you were insulting the robot's mother."

"**Oh, **_**right**_**, the **_**toaster**_**.** **Well, it's gone now…So, how'd they get **_**you**_**?**"

Shari frowned at the memory. "I was going to meet the newcomers, remember? They must've got there before me…"

"**Speaking of newcomers…,**" Christina interjected from the other camera. Shari jumped, banging her nose on Tayla's camera in the process. _**Ow**__._

"Oh, right, _sorry_." She glanced between the two cameras, feeling a little odd. "Uh…Well, Christina, this is my best friend, Tayla. Tayla, this is the newcomer, Christina."

_I'm introducing cameras. _

"**Hi, Christina!**" Tayla called cheerfully. "**I like your name!**"

"**Uh, thanks, I guess…**"

"**You're welcome! You know, I once had a teacher with the name Christina. A nice teacher. She fed us peas and oranges and threatened us with a hockey stick. I told it wouldn't work 'cause my dog is much worse than her hockey stick, but apparently she learned this kung-fu thingy that- **"

As Tayla jabbered away, Shari took a moment to grin. After being alone for several hours in a small white cell, it was nice to have some company. She shook her head. Right. Back to business. "Tayla," she called, interrupting a rather vivid description of poodlezilla. "Had anyone gone to look for me?"

"**-Eats tables and shower hose thingies and-What? No, not yet. I don't think anyone knew you were gone.**"

Shari processed this, then opened her mouth to speak again.

"**Okay, that's **_**it**_**,**" Christina interrupted, sounding fed up. "**You guys **_**obviously**_**know what's going on here and I want to know **_**now**_**! Why do you keep calling me a newcomer? I got here **_**before**_** you! And who the heck names someone **_**Shadow**_**? What are we, in a videogame?**"

Shari blinked. "Well…hmm…How to answer that…"

"_**What**_** is going **_**on**_**? You've been leaving me out since-**"

"Wait," Shari interrupted, standing completely still as her mind suddenly registered something. "You just…How could you not know…Do-Do you know about fanfiction?"

"…_**What**_**?**"

" . It's this website…" She trailed off, feeling light-headed.

"**What does a **_**website**_** have to do with my **_**question**_**?**"

Shari wasn't listening. She slowly sat down, connections zigzagging in her head. How could Christina not know fanfiction? It was impossible! The only reason they were _here_ was because…Wait…What if Robotnic _didn't_ take them for their fanficiton knowledge? She frowned. Well, then what were they really here for? What did Eggman need with a couple of _teenagers_? Unless…

Unless they'd got it all wrong.

Shari jumped, startled out of her thoughts, at the sound of something hissing. She watched in muted wonder as the door in front of her slowly whirred open, clicking as it locked in place.

"**Shari? Shari did you do that?**"

"**Shari! My door just opened! Did you find the wire?**"

The two voices were just white noise in her ears. Her complete focus was on the glowing red eyes glaring down at her, on the metallic arms, legs, torso…Her eyes widened in recognition. The two froze there for a moment, staring at each other.

Then Sonic's most dangerous enemy stepped into the room.

The door gave a slight hiss as it shut.

**Me:**** I've already began the next chapter, just so you know. Oh! AND I'm now accepting Beta requests! YAY!**

**Oh, and apparently my friends have a habit of giving my random words meaning. 'Foofy' is a little chibi character that appears in the backround of one friend's artwork. And 'snoodleberry' has been hereby dubbed a yogurt. Drat. Now I'll have to think of something else. **

**Anyway, your reviews are my inspiration! I missed you all and I'm looking forward to hearing from you! So, TYPE-ITH!**

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